Banks across the Middle East are accelerating automation initiatives to improve efficiency, accuracy and scalability as digital transformation intensifies. BankDhofar’s approach highlights how robotic process automation is becoming a core component of modern banking operations.
Financial institutions throughout the Middle East are currently undergoing a significant period of modernisation amid rising regulatory pressures and digital expectations. Within this shifting landscape, quality assurance and the reliability of core processes are no longer treated as secondary concerns. Instead, these elements are being integrated directly into the heart of digital transformation strategies. BankDhofar, a prominent commercial bank in the Sultanate of Oman, has emerged as a leader in this space by making automation a fundamental pillar of its operational evolution.
Established in 1990, the bank provides a wide range of services, including retail banking, project finance, and treasury operations. As transaction volume increased and systems became more complex, the leadership team realised that manual execution was no longer sufficient to maintain the necessary speed and consistency.
The journey toward advanced automation began in 2015 with a comprehensive digital transformation program. Following a competitive selection process, the bank chose to utilise robotic process automation technology to handle repetitive tasks. Ahmed Said Al Ibrahim, the Chief Operating Officer, explained that the primary goal was to upgrade internal processes to deliver superior banking services. He noted that robotics would assist with routine duties, allowing staff to increase productivity and interact with customers in real time.
Initial efforts focused on three specific areas: monitoring database logs, processing financial settlements, and generating statements for point-of-sale terminals. One early success involved a settlement process that previously required two full-time employees to manually reconcile transactions between merchant accounts and the core banking system. The head of the automation department, Ankit Shahi, shared that the first deployment was intentionally narrow in scope. Despite being a small and piecemeal project, the impact was immediate and substantial.
From a quality assurance perspective, this single automation reduced the need for manual intervention in a high-risk reconciliation task. The results showed a seventy per cent reduction in processing time and a significant increase in settlement upload efficiency. Furthermore, it removed the burden of working on bank holidays and weekends from employees, while simultaneously reducing the risk of human error in tasks that require absolute accuracy.
Following these early wins, the bank transitioned from tactical fixes to a more strategic, enterprise-wide implementation. Under the guidance of specialised analysts and architects, new governance structures were established to ensure that all future automation projects aligned with risk requirements and delivered measurable value. This led to the expansion of technology across various departments, including the card centre, credit administration, e-banking, and Islamic banking.
Today, the institution utilises approximately 15 robots to manage 56 processes. One of the most complex projects involved managing physical cash across branches and automated teller machines. While the original intent was to automate the ordering of cash from the central bank, deeper analysis revealed an opportunity to optimise cash volumes using historical data. This advanced automation successfully lowered transportation and security costs while reducing the amount of idle cash held in machines. This project alone returned approximately four million dollars in value to the business.
Vikesh Mirani, the Chief Financial Officer, pointed out that the bank is using robotics to manage processes that follow standard logic or can be executed outside of business hours. He noted that the adoption of these tools has helped the bank reduce turnaround times and enhance the overall customer experience. Moving forward, the institution aims to integrate machine learning to detect process anomalies and trigger automated requests based on complex logic. Such advancements are expected to improve the control environment within the organisation further.
What this means for the industry
• Automation is becoming central to banking operations
Robotic process automation is enabling banks to handle repetitive, high-volume tasks more efficiently and accurately.
• Operational efficiency and cost reduction are key drivers
Automation helps reduce processing time, minimise errors and lower operational costs across core banking functions.
• Banks are moving from tactical to enterprise-wide automation
Initial use cases are evolving into strategic, organisation-wide deployments supported by governance frameworks.
• Data-driven optimisation is unlocking additional value
Using historical data to optimise processes, such as cash management, is delivering measurable financial benefits.
• AI and machine learning are the next phase of automation
Banks are increasingly integrating advanced analytics to detect anomalies and enhance decision-making across operations.
