Digital Transformation at Al Hilal Bank: From Bricks and Mortar to a Fully Functional Digital Bank

Set in July 2023, the case illustrates Al Hilal Bank’s (AHB) transformation from a bricks-and-mortar bank to a fully digital one focused on serving retail customers in the United Arab Emirates. AHB was helmed by Abdul Shakeel Aidaroos, the Chief Executive Officer, whose vision was to create a Shariah-compliant digital bank catering to Emirati families. Digital transformation was critical for the bank to turn that vision into reality and disrupt the domestic market.

At the core of AHB’s transformation was a ‘super app’ that would serve as the primary banking channel for its customers, and a platform for services that could be used by customers and non-customers alike. Twelve months after the launch of the app, it had more than one million downloads and over 140,000 banking customers had signed up for AHB’s banking services through it.

AHB had also expanded its operations in the Middle East, Kazakhstan, and the United Kingdom, as the initial steps towards its goal of extending the bank’s reach beyond the Middle East into Asia, Africa, and Europe. What else could Shakeel do to drive AHB’s growth further? What other innovations should be introduced through the app to address the needs of the bank’s customers, as well as other users?

The case is suitable for teaching undergraduate information system courses in digital transformation and enterprise architecture design, especially SOA and MSA. On the business aspect, students would learn to identify the factors driving digital transformation, the implementation approach, challenges, and the role of digital leadership. On the technical side, they will identify SOA layers, containerisation benefits, and API gateways’ role in implementing the strangler fig pattern.

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