Bahrain-based Al Nadeem IT has announced the signing of an agreement with Saphir Systems to develop and provide mobile financial services (MFS) in Bahrain.

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of Gitex 2013 in Dubai, and the Economic Development (EDB) played a key role in supporting this partnership.

MFS provides solutions to various organisations to offer national and international money transfer, payment at points of sale, bill payment, credit or microcredit management and many other financial services.

Research has indicated that the global value of financial transactions made through mobile has reached $235 billion and it is expected that the Middle East share of this market will grow 80 per cent by 2017 to reach $27.6 billion, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

"The kingdom has long been regarded as the Gulf's technological pioneer, and we aim to be on the map of this $3 trillion industry as the ICT market in Bahrain is expected to see further growth," EDB executive director for business development Vivian Jamal said.

"This agreement will result in introducing new MFS technology and solutions to the kingdom," Al Nadeem IT chief executive Ubaydli Ubaydli said.

"It will benefit the banking and insurance sector and revolutionise electronic and mobile banking," he added.

A new concept introduced and patented by Saphir Systems has enabled remittance and transfer of money that can be collected from the nearest ATM in local towns.

"At Saphir Systems, our mission is to be the partner of reference in the implementation of MFS," Saphir Systems managing director Abdellatif Benider said.

Saphir Systems has developed a wide network of experts in MFS strategies and aims to provide customers with innovative ideas, along with reliable and efficient technology, as well as ensuring that close attention is paid in order to meet the clients' expectations.

Bahrain's progress in the ICT industry is demonstrated by the 2012 UN eGovernment Readiness Survey, placing the kingdom second in the Mena region.

The survey placed Bahrain 36th of 192 countries worldwide in its application of ICT to provide access and inclusion for its citizens.

In the survey, Bahrain outperformed the world average across eReadiness, Web Measure, Infrastructure, Human Capital and e-Participation.

The financial services sector accounts for 17 per cent of the kingdom's GDP, with more than 400 financial institutions registered in Bahrain.-TradeArabia News Service