Annual Report 2018 The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques

partners, Alinma saw, in 2018, an increase in the 
number of new partners.
Our hard work has indeed paid off; and in 2018, 
Alinma Bank was recognized as the fastest 
 growing bank in Saudi Arabia for the sixth time 
in the bank’s 10-year history.
In terms of new services launched in 2018,  Alinma 
Bank added online account opening for the first 
time in the kingdom; online national ID, Iqama, 
and address updating and verification; and 
 contactless NFC ATM withdrawals, also a first 
for Saudi Arabia.
In terms of technical advancement, Alinma 
was the first bank in the kingdom to adopt the 
 “Active-Active” data center model, which is a 
vast data transformation improvement over 
the  “Active-Passive” model still common in the 
 region.  Active-Active ensures that all partner 
data is  replicated in real time across the bank’s 
primary and back-up data center systems, thus 
 eliminating down-time concerns and  significantly 
mitigating risks related to disaster recovery 
 scenarios. This accomplishment garnered the 
bank the Best IT Service Transformation award 
at the 2018 IDC Saudi CIO Excellence Awards.
The bank, working through its newly  established 
FinTech unit, organized the Alinma FinTech  Forum, 
which brought together key  stakeholders in the 
emerging FinTech sector to discuss ways in which 
Alinma can contribute to enriching the  local 
 market with new and improved digital  banking 

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Annual Report 2018
products and services, with the  assistance of 
 innovative FinTech partners.   Towards this end, 
Alinma launched, in 2018, its first 24/7,  fully digital 
branch, giving partners the ultimate  convenience 
in terms of access to self-service banking options.
2018 was also an important year for Alinma in 
terms of corporate social responsibility (CSR) 
 activities. Some of these included:
•  Blood donation campaigns.
•  Home financing programs that supported 
 government housing initiatives.
•  No fee, no cost education financing  agreements.
•  The Alinma Shariah Publications smart 
 device application and printed three-volume 
 compendium, which shares the bank’s Shariah 
rulings with the world .
•  Support for the King Abdulaziz Project for 
 Public Transport in Riyadh, through the bank’s 
 successful naming rights bid for the Alinma 
Bank Riyadh Metro station located at the 
 intersection of Prince Mohammed Ibn  Abdulaziz 
Street (Tahliyyah) and Musa Ibn  Nusair Street.
•  Commitment to national human  
capital 
 
development through tailored talent 
 identification and training programs.
In conclusion, I would like to extend my thanks 
and appreciation to the Custodian of the Two 
Holy Mosques, King Salman Ibn Abdulaziz Al 
Saud, and HRH Crown Prince Mohammed Ibn 
Salman Ibn Abdulaziz Al Saud, for their efforts to 
serve the kingdom and overcome and  eliminate 
all obstacles that might impede its ongoing 
growth, development, and stability. I would also 
like to thank the Chairman and members of the 
Board of Directors, members of the Shariah Board 
and all employees of the bank for the efforts they 
have exerted to serve the bank’s partners and 
shareholders. And last but not least, I extend my 
thanks to Alinma’s partners for their continued 
trust in Alinma Bank.