The National Bank of Oman and Ooredoo Fintech have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a joint digital financial services and payments framework in the sultanate. The agreement was formalised at NBO’s head office in Muscat on 31 March.
The MoU establishes a collaboration framework spanning digital wallet ecosystem development, payment services and settlement arrangements, banking and financial infrastructure support, and broader fintech initiatives to be defined in separate agreements. The partnership combines NBO’s banking infrastructure with Ooredoo Fintech’s walletii platform, the mobile wallet service operated by Ooredoo’s fintech arm in Oman.
Both parties framed the agreement as aligned with Oman Vision 2040’s digital transformation objectives. Mohammed Yahya Al Jabri, Assistant General Manager and Head of Global Transaction Banking at NBO, said the partnership is aimed at advancing digital payment infrastructure and improving the efficiency of financial service delivery. Noor Al Lawati, Country Head at Ooredoo Fintech Oman, described the collaboration as combining NBO’s banking strength with walletii’s platform agility to widen the scope of digital financial services available in the market.
No financial terms, product launch timelines, or user targets were disclosed at the MoU stage.
Editor’s Note: The pairing of a legacy commercial bank with a telco-backed fintech platform reflects Oman’s push to deepen digital payments penetration as part of its Vision 2040 financial diversification agenda. Watch for the specific product agreements that follow this MoU, particularly around whether the digital wallet targets the unbanked or underbanked segments of Oman’s expatriate population.
