ALBA - the first company in Bahrain to introduce Standard Chartered Bank's 'Straight2Bank Access' for their payments
Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) is the first industrial organisation in Bahrain and the second company in the Middle East to implement Standard Chartered Bank's 'Straight2Bank Access' for their domestic and international payments.
A ceremony to launch this innovative connectivity solution was held at the Alba Club on May 7, 2009 which was attended by Ahmed Saleh Al-Noaimi, Chief Executive Officer of Alba and Jonathan Morris, Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank Bahrain.
Standard Chartered Bank has introduced a sophisticated connectivity solution called 'Straight2Bank Access' which allows it to directly integrate with Alba's SAP System using SAPXi infrastructure. 'Straight2Bank Access' is a fully integrated end-to-end connectivity platform providing robust payments and information management capability while adhering to company specific controls and compliance requirements. This application is geared to handle multiple currency payments types used in international trade, supplier payments and vendor payments.
This integration will place Alba as one of the technological front-runners among companies in Bahrain and the Middle East, and enables the company to readily automate its services and achieve speed and efficiency in their working capital requirements.
This was a 4 months joint effort between Alba and Standard Chartered Bank with a dedicated project team members working on the integration between Alba's SAP XI and the Standard Chartered Bank system. The team designed and configured both systems to work as per Alba's business processes.
"Our customer and supplier base is spread across diverse marketing territories and covers many countries around the world, and hence, it is imperative that our transactions follow less complex procedures. The new system will ensure that the process of payments is done electronically in a secured environment. This is a far more efficient method than the earlier manual system of sending individual payment instructions to the bank".
"We are confident that it will greatly enhance the interface with our customers and provide them with a highly satisfying and enriching experience while dealing with us," said Mr. Al-Noaimi".
Jonathan Morris, Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank Bahrain said, "Alba and Standard Chartered Bank Bahrain have been working together for many years now and this arrangement is another example of the mutual trust and long-standing working relationship between us."
"We have made a significant investment in the Bank's electronic banking capability in response to our clients' need for us to be able to deliver sophisticated transaction, trade, hedging, and information services through a single platform. 'Straight2Bank' has been designed so that it has the flexibility to be adapted for all types of clients from a small enterprise to the most sophisticated multi-national corporation such as Alba. With Straight2Bank, Standard Chartered has been able to tailor a solution to exactly meet Alba's needs".
Alba has been consistently ranked as one of the largest aluminium smelters in the world and is known for its technological strength and innovative policies. It has consistently maintained a high track record for safety and continues to enforce strict environmental guidelines and has surpassed production targets set for the year. It supports numerous community oriented programmes and social activities that have underlined its status as one of Bahrain's leading industrial organisations that remains fully committed to its corporate social responsibility.