MANAMA: Technology innovation is key to enabling financial institutions to deliver more value to customers, while simultaneously meeting regulatory requirements and managing new risks, an industry thought leader has said.

Ebtikar Association founder and president and ABTEC 2014 chairperson Osama Al Khajah said in an increasingly digital world, financial institutions must move away from legacy systems.

Al Khajah was speaking at the opening of the Arabian Banking Technology Exhibition and Conference (ABTEC) 2014 at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre.

“The first edition of ABTEC coincides with Ebtikar Association’s first anniversary and makes it an annual international platform for decision makers to meet cutting-edge financial technologies and solutions in Bahrain and discuss, network and do business,” he added.

The exhibition and conference was inaugurated by Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) executive director for corporate services Dr Huda Al Maskati.

ABTEC 2014 has drawn more than 70 international exhibitors from 35 countries.

It includes country pavilions from Hungary and Romania, more than 400 delegates representing leading financial institutions from across the Middle East and is expected to witness more than 2,000 visitors over the two days.

Avanza Solutions, a regional IT firm, launched at the event, “Ambit on Cloud”, its Internet banking solution.

“We are now making Ambit available on a SaaS (Software as a Service) model,” Avanza Solutions Managing Director Waqas Mirza said.

“It is a strategic Internet banking product that ensures continuous delivery of retail and corporate banking services to the customers in a personalised, efficient and secure manner. “Ambit on Cloud requires no software to be preloaded at the customer site and is a true ‘thin client’ browser-based solution.

“It is completely independent of hardware, software, database products and browsers,” he added.

ABTEC 2014 is supported by the CBB and promoted by Ebtikar Association in co-operation with the Bahrain Association of Banks.—PR