January 6, 2017: Having entered the Turkish banking industry at the end of 2012, Odeabank maintained steady growth and continued to solidify strong achievements. It capitalised on its competitive strength to rank 8th among private deposit banks and 9th in total assets in Turkey. It owes this rapid growth to customer-oriented and an innovative approach to banking.

‘Unique’ refers to an experience that differentiates from banking standards, prioritising customer needs and satisfaction while evolving with customer demands and feedbacks. Odeabank’s unique customer journey unifies customer experience in all Direct Banking channels (Internet, Mobile, ATM, IVR).

Odeabank believes that even if users are using different channels, they are making the same transactions after all. If banks offer the same experience in all channels, it would simplify the process for users.

Odeabank provides the same User Interface (UI) & design (Telephone Dialpad Style Menu), same User Experience (UX), same navigation style and menu (Just press 2-4 for Card Payments in all channels) and same transaction flows across all channels (ATM, Internet, Contact Center, Mobile).

Even though Direct Banking channels of Odeabank — ATM, Internet, Mobile, Telephone Banking and Kiosk — are formed with different letters and meanings, this project re-created them from ground zero to bring about uniformity and tap the trend of customers using the latest technology to carry out banking. As a result, 83% of all transactions are being carried out through Direct Banking channels.

Going forward, Odeabank believes that mobile will be the most used channel of all in the short term. The number of active mobile banking users have doubled as compared to the number of active internet banking users in less than two years. Hence, it has put mobile banking at the centre of the process of the project.

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Suparna Goswami Bhattacharya

June 28, 2016: In a move that has surprised many, Saudi Arabia has scaled back its renewable power targets as the world’s largest producer of oil plans to use more natural gas, backing away from goals set when crude prices were about triple their current level.

The Kingdom has now brought down its renewable target from 50% of the energy mix to 10%. “Our energy mix has shifted more towards gas, so the need for high targets from renewable sources isn’t there anymore,” said Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih. Generating more power from gas should help Saudi reserve more crude for exports, which otherwise gets burned to meet the Kingdom’s electricity demand.

Saudi Arabia has for years sought to develop gas resources to provide fuel for power plants and industries, and to free up more oil to sell overseas. Saudi Arabian Oil Co., the state-run producer, has also set up several ventures with international partners to explore gas.

Jeremy Leggett, founder and chairman, Solarcentury, UK’s largest and independent solar company, says, “The emphasis on gas is disappointing for various reasons. For instance, solar energy is cheaper than gas, and this has been shown in recent auctions.”  Leggett adds that it does not reflect well on the Kingdom which only recently announced a $2 trillion post-oil economy.

Also, the move will only help countries like India, China and US grow domestic solar industries that can lead the world in the emerging energy transition away from fossil fuels.

There are others who, however, do not read much into the announcement.

“This is simply a public statement that tries to reset the renewable energy targets set in 2012 under K.A.CARE. Once the details of the King Salman Renewable Energy Initiative are announced, we will know what to expect in the future from Saudi Arabia. They now have a chance to reset the Saudi renewable program and manage expectations,” says Browning Rockwell, global business executive, Horizon Tradewinds.

In 2012, K.A.CARE, the body tasked with weaning Saudi Arabia off oil for domestic power consumption, launched an ambitious plan for solar. It had proposed investing $109 billion in 41 GW of solar power to supply a third of the Kingdom’s electricity by 2032. An initial procurement round of 600 MW, split evenly between PV and concentrated solar power, was due to kick off in January 2013. However, the announcements remained only on paper and nothing concrete started.

The exact reason for the retreat on solar is not known.

“I feel until competitive solar energy storage is achieved by the Kingdom, gas will probably be prioritised,” says Rockwell adding that K.A.CARE was never really given any real authority to implement the announced projects.

Various reports suggest a lack of alignment between K.A.CARE and other potential stakeholders, such as the Saudi Aramco and King Abdullah University of Science & Technology.

Saudi Arabia’s proven reserves of gas rank third largest in the Middle East. According to figures by World Energy, proven natural gas reserves in the Kingdom are over 7 trillion cubic metres.

“Industrial expansion requires cheap and dependable energy source. Gas is a safe bet and does not have the inefficiency issues of solar. Storage of solar energy is still a problem,” says Graham Little, an independent energy and power expert.

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