Meethaq, the pioneer of Islamic banking in Oman from Bank Muscat, has enhanced the value proposition of its innovative Shari’a based savings account with attractive new features. Committed to maintaining the leadership in Islamic banking, the savings account with enhanced features is aimed at further encouraging the savings culture in Oman by providing attractive benefits to customers.
Notably, the Meethaq savings account based on Mudaraba principle provides annual profit rate up to 1.25 per cent, along with free life Takaful. With monthly profit payment and smart cash management, Meethaq savings account offers profit for every single Riyal of deposit. The benefits also include Visa ATM debit card for Point of Sale (PoS) transactions and cash withdrawal through ATM machines around the world. There is no minimum balance fee on Meethaq savings account.
Sulaiman Al Harthy, Deputy Chief Executive Officer – Islamic Banking, said: “At a time when expectations on financial rewards and incentives are low due to prevailing economic situation, Meethaq is proud to further elevate the unique Islamic banking experience. Meethaq is proud to enhance the features of the savings account, aimed at rewarding customers with attractive benefits. The Meethaq strategy is to maintain the leadership in Islamic banking through innovative Shari’a based products and services.”
The Shari’a based Meethaq savings account is designed on the principles of ‘Mudaraba’ where the bank generates Shari’a based income with a pre-determined profit-sharing ratio for the customer by investing the money in Shari’a based instruments. The savings account is available for both individuals as well as corporates.
Meethaq savings account holder provides funds as ‘Rabb-ul-maal’ and Meethaq invests these funds as ‘Mudarib’ i.e. the fund manager “Entrepreneur”. Based on this relationship, the depositors and Meethaq become beneficiaries of the profit earned. When the joint investment pool earns profit, it is distributed at the pre-agreed ratio between the depositors and Meethaq.
Profit from the pool of Shari’a compliant assets is calculated at the end of every month. Meethaq keeps a share of the profit as Mudarib’s share. The balance profit is distributed to customers as per the predetermined weightages.
Meethaq offers a full suite of Islamic banking products and services, including savings account, current account, home finance, auto finance, credit card, mobile banking and internet banking. Presently, Meethaq has 18 branches across the Sultanate and plans to expand the network as well as launch new products and services to complement the unique Islamic banking experience. The bank has invested in staff, systems and controls to ensure the service is delivered in a professional, segregated and fully Shari’a compliant manner.
Meethaq has adopted the best practices in Islamic banking and finance worldwide to combine a robust model which protects customers and complements the Islamic banking industry. Every Meethaq product goes through the process of Shari’a compliance certification by the Shari’a Supervisory Board and is created in line with the guidelines of the Central Bank of Oman.