Central Bank Of Oman 's RTGS Implementation Nearing Market Rehearsal Stage With Participants
Posted: 04 July 2005
HP, in co-ordination with the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has presented the progress report on the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) project, the first part of the ambitious Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) project undertaken by the Appex Bank.
 A special event was organised to present the milestones achieved to date for the commercial banks operating in Oman and the other participants of the EFT project (Ministry of Finance, Muscat Securities Market) where participants were briefed on the progress of the project. The event was held under the patronage of HH. Sayid Tarik Bin Shabib Bin Taimur Al-Said - Director Renaissance Services (mother company of IMTAC, HP partner and prime contractor for the RTGS project), and HE. Hamood Sangour Al Zadjali – the Executive President of the CBO, and was attended by CEOs of the leading Oman-based banks, the Executive President of Omantel, and representatives from Ministry of Finance and Muscat Securities Market.
CBO's EFT project is being implemented in stages, with a soft launch of the RTGS project imminent in August 2005. The EFT project is comprising Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) for inter-bank payments, Automated Clearing House (ACH), Electronic Check Clearing (ECC) through Cheque Imaging, ATM Switch/POS, Delivery versus Payments (DvP), and Payments versus Payments. The RTGS project is scheduled to go live in October, before which a market rehearsal will be conducted between the Banks and the various participants. This market rehearsal is aimed as an interactive test environment, where all functionalities of the system will be tested with participants, and the participants themselves will be certified after having passed various stages of testing.
It was revealed at the event that participants are now connected to the BankNet, the private 'communication highway' network provided by strategic partner Omantel, and are in a state of total readiness to install the interface with CBO's RTGS central node. While participants are studying best options for their business process re-engineering, they are also availing of extensive training, in anticipation of the launch.
HH Sayid Tarik Bin Shahib Bin Taimur Al-Said – Director Renaissance Services, thanked the project team for their efforts and confirmed the commitment of IMTAC - an HP partner in Oman - for the EFT project in particular and for CBO and the banking community in general.
 HE. Hamood Sangour Al Zadjali - Executive President of CBO said that the project was the first of many steps that CBO has planned towards introducing an ambitious National Payment System. "The next couple of years will see radical changes in how money is managed in Oman 's local economy. Plans are in place to introduce the latest technologies to all facets of the National Payment System, and we are working closely on various automation projects including clearing house, payment switch and small payment transactions. Commercial banks in Oman and all their customers can look forward to a new era in banking as they reap the benefits of technology," he stated.
"As of now, almost 70 per cent of the RTGS project implementation is complete and we are confident that the soft launch will he held as per schedule in end August, with the launch in end October, as per project schedule. Other components of the EFT project are also well underway," he added.
Moustafa Nagi, Regional Manager, Financial Services Industry, HP Middle East, said: “We are delighted to be working with CBO to implement this ambitious project, regarded as a milestone achievement for the banking industry in the Middle East . HP has significant experience in working collaboratively with financial institutions, regionally and globally, to build solutions that enable them to reduce costs, increase efficiency, minimise risks and, importantly, increase their profits.”
The presentation and various updates on CBO's EFT project were followed by an interactive panel discussion, with active participation from attending delegates.
Posted by Editor Pipeline Magazine
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