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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

E-payment to usher Oman into cashless society

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MUSCAT, OCT 21 - A number of initiatives and programmes, launched by the public and private sectors, are helping usher in an era of cashless transactions in Oman. This was affirmed at last week’s, Caribou Chats, a monthly gathering sponsored by Startup Oman, the country’s only platform created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. Hosted at the event were Majid al Amri, founder of Thawani Technologies, and Ahmed al Shagra, founder of Nadrus.com.


“With technology bringing so many changes in Oman’s financial industry, more and more people want to make and receive payment through debit and credit cards and e-payments. There is no need to put cash in the wallet. And Oman is very much welcoming in embracing these technological changes,” said Al Amri, the brain behind the Thawani e-payment initiative.


The Thawani platform marks yet another secure and easy payment channel here in Oman. It offers a safe and highly secure alternative payment method to cash, credit and debit cards. It is compatible with Android and iOS devices.


Thawani has been designed to be an easy payment solution that takes away the complexity of remembering multiple PINs and passwords while keeping banking information completely private. “There is no sharing of information in Thawani”, he added.


Security has been one of the most important aspects during the creation of the platform.


In conformity local and international standards on data integrity and security encryption, the system implements banking standard security controls at application level and at data centre level.


Thawani is also compliant with both Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) and Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS), as well as featuring additional level security protocols. The company also adopts serious controls for fraud management, risk management and anti-money laundering activities.


‘‘The security structure is a continuous process that requires frequent updates and improvements. Thawani is committed to keep investing in the security infrastructure as a top priority throughout the journey,” added Al Amri


Asked how Thawani will compete with other existing payment methods, Al Amri said, “Thawani is a ‘complementary payment model’, adding an alternative way to make and receive payments. Monopoly is the enemy of innovation. Competition fuels innovation. Be one step ahead of your competitors.”


Commenting on how Thawani differs with e-payment systems offered by banks and other platforms like Apple Pay, “These systems, including Thawani, are another way of holding your card. It is called ‘card virtualisation’. But these systems work on the same terminals. Not with Thawani, it can be used by any terminal and with any card.”


Al Amri says it is very important to do a shareholder’s analysis in starting a business, from regulators to consumers, from investors to users. Determining what they are, what they want to accomplish, what are the challenges and what to do to overcome these challenges. One must fully understand the needs of the customers and give these needs.


“We hope to improve the digital payments in Oman, as we usher into becoming a cashless society. We want to help educate ordinary business people into the benefits of e-commerce and help SMEs to have easy access to payment gateway,” Al Amri concluded.


Jomar Mendoza


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