Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia taps Thought Machine to power new digital bank

Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia (ARBM), a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s banking group Al Rajhi Bank, has selected Thought Machine and its Vault core banking solution as it prepares to launch a new digital bank later this year.

Thought Machine has its eyes on expansion in the US and Asia

Thought Machine says Vault will “enable ARBM to deliver on its ambitions and launch an end-to-end next-generation bank”.

It adds the bank will “harness Vault’s Universal Product Engine” to “design, launch and manage” a comprehensive set of Shariah-compliant banking products, including financing, saving and SME-focused offerings.

Arsalaan Ahmed, CEO of ARBM, says his firm is aiming to become “the #1 Islamic finance innovation bank in Malaysia”.

The announcement comes just a week after Danish neobank Lunar selected Thought Machine to modernise its existing core systems.

The vendor had a busy 2021, raising $200 million in a Series C round in November as well as securing deals with JP Morgan Chase, ING Bank Śląski (the Poland-based subsidiary of ING) and Arvest Bank, among others.