alrajhi bank’s journey began in 1957 as a currency conversion company in Riyadh. Today, alrajhi is the largest Islamic bank in the world, serving more than 20 million customers through +500 branches and with assets exceeding SAR 1 trillion (US $267B).
But maintaining leadership in one of the world’s fastest-evolving banking markets requires constant reinvention.
A market demanding more, and faster
The bank has had to respond to a significant demographic shift in Saudi Arabia. A younger, digitally native generation now makes up a growing share of the customer base, and their expectations are uncompromising. They expect banking to be instant, intuitive, personalized and fully digital. At the same time, Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia’s national transformation program, is accelerating financial inclusion and the digitalization of services across the Kingdom.
New entrants, including digital-native banks and fintechs, are raising expectations even further with faster innovation cycles and highly personalized experiences. For an institution of alrajhi ’s scale and heritage, the challenge was not only to keep pace, but to continue leading, while maintaining the governance, trust, and Islamic principles that define the bank.
For customers, that meant faster access to products, seamless digital journeys, and experiences that could evolve as quickly as their expectations.
In practice, this required the bank to launch new products more rapidly, support richer digital experiences, expand open banking integrations, and innovate at a pace legacy systems could no longer support.
A new chapter for an established partnership
The bank’s partnership with Temenos is not a new one. alrajhi bank was an early collaborator in shaping Temenos’ Islamic banking capabilities, helping inform some of the platform’s foundational Islamic banking functionality. This latest transformation builds on that foundation, taking the bank’s core banking capabilities into a new era.
When alrajhi initiated a formal selection process to modernize its core banking platform, the criteria extended far beyond technical capability. The bank needed a partner with a proven track record supporting tier-one global institutions, a strong local and regional presence, and a genuinely Sharia-compliant solution.
Temenos met all three. Having used Temenos for Islamic Banking solutions for several years, alrajhi bank expanded an established relationship built on shared experience and deep banking knowledge.
Equally important was the prospect of platform ownership. From the outset, the goal was clear: alrajhi would build the internal capability to fully own, configure, and evolve its platform independently.
Temenos is not just a software company. They know banking very well and understand our customers’ needs and expectations. So it’s not simply about taking their products but co-creating a roadmap.”
Moataz Gad, Core Banking Head, alrajhi bank
A phased transformation built for seamless scaling
Implementation began with a deliberate departure from convention. With more than 20 million customers relying on the bank’s services every day, a big-bang go-live was never considered viable. Instead, alrajhi adopted a phased, iterative approach, segment by segment.
The bank is now fully live on Temenos Core across its entire lending portfolio, covering retail, micro, small business, and corporate products. Crucially, the transition happened without disruption to customers or employees. Services continued seamlessly while the transformation progressed in the background. For customers, the modernization was largely invisible, except in the form of faster services, quicker product availability, and improved digital experiences.
Early in the program, implementation partners supported the bank in building its delivery model, transferring knowledge and developing internal capability. The transition was intentionally structured, resulting in alrajhi independently maintaining and operating the platform with no reliance on external parties for day-to-day operations or product configuration.
“We had a very smooth handover and knowledge transfer. Currently we are maintaining the platform 100% from our side.” Moataz Gad, Core Banking Head at alrajhi bank
Enabling first-mover advantage
The move to Temenos Core has fundamentally changed how alrajhi brings products and services to market. What once required extensive development effort and weeks or months of lead time can now be configured and launched in days.
The platform’s flexibility allows internal teams to operate as an innovative engine, responding directly to evolving customer expectations and business opportunities without dependency on external vendors or lengthy implementation cycles. In a market where customer expectations evolve rapidly, this speed has become a critical competitive advantage.
While the immediate transformation focused on lending, the bank is extending Temenos Core into additional areas of the business. The platform also provides the foundation for alrajhi ’s customer-facing super-app, widely recognized as one of the most comprehensive digital banking experiences globally.
“We have become a solutions factory, we are able to build in-house what customers and businesses need.” Moataz Gad, Core Banking Head at alrajhi bank
A partnership that continues to evolve
The relationship between alrajhi and Temenos has never been purely transactional. From contributing to the evolution of Islamic banking capabilities over the years to navigating a complex, multi-year transformation program, the relationship has been defined by continuity, transparency and shared ambition.
Temenos has been a longstanding partner in supporting our Sharia-compliant banking innovation journey. Today we are faced with a new set of challenges and ambitions, and we face those together.”
Moataz Gad, Core Banking Head, alrajhi bank
Looking ahead, alrajhi is planning an upgrade to the latest Temenos release and assessing the next evolution of its technology architecture for the decade ahead. The bank is also closely monitoring developments in AI and exploring how emerging technologies can further enhance customer experience, operational agility and innovation.
Moataz notes, “Temenos has been a trusted partner in our evolution as a leading Islamic bank. Its Islamic banking capabilities have enabled us to modernize while preserving the principles that define our business, helping us innovate faster and deliver better experiences for our customers.”
For alrajhi bank, this transformation represents far more than a technology modernization program. It is the foundation for serving the next generation of customers, with the speed, convenience, personalization and digital experiences they increasingly expect, while maintaining its position as the world’s leading Islamic bank.
