Ithmaar Bank customers will soon have the ability to carry out any transaction using only their fingertips — no credit or debit card needed! The bank has joined forces with Eazy Financial Services to launch the region’s first-ever biometric payment network with the hope that it will revolutionize the banking and financial sector.
So gone are the days when you would be in trouble for forgetting your wallet at home. If you are an Ithmaar customer, you won’t have to use any bank card to withdraw money at ATM. All you have to do is swipe your fingerprint as per the onscreen instruction, enter your PIN, and wait for the money to be dispatched as usual.
Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chief Executive of Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), praised both Ithmaar and Eazy saying that the partnership between the two will further Bahrain’s claim as the regional hotbed for FinTech innovation.
“This partnership comes in line with our strategy to encourage innovation that supports high-value job creation in the Kingdom. Bahrain’s forward-thinking regulatory approach provides an attractive environment for FinTech – particularly in areas such as Islamic finance and payments. We look forward to welcoming more home-grown initiatives such as this,” he said.
Ithmaar plans on deploying the new Biometric Payment Network in the first quarter of 2019. According to the bank, the new service will be powered by a sophisticated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS). It’s the same tried-and-tested system used across the world for a broad range of civil and forensic applications.
