The foundation of Bank Muamalat’s strategy was simple. Avoid turning modernisation into a multi-year transformation programme before customers see any value from it.

For many incumbent banks, that is exactly what happens. Large-scale core replacement projects often become weighed down by governance complexity, vendor dependency, and competing internal priorities long before the technology itself becomes the issue.

Bank Muamalat deliberately chose not to take that route.

Instead, the bank adopted what is often referred to as a speedboat strategy.

While the legacy core continued supporting the wider organisation, ATLAS was launched as an independent digital platform operating on a modern cloud-native architecture powered by Mambu.

That separation gave the team room to move faster without disrupting existing operations. It also allowed Bank Muamalat to test new products, simplify customer journeys, and validate new operating models before extending them across the wider business.

Importantly, ATLAS was never designed to remain isolated from the core bank. The platform now acts as a live modernisation environment, allowing Bank Muamalat to gradually transition toward a more agile architecture over time rather than forcing the organisation through a high-risk enterprise-wide migration.

As Chirag Amla puts it, the success of the model comes from aligning technology decisions with clear business goals.

But technology alone did not enable a nine-month launch. Delivering ATLAS at that speed required Bank Muamalat to rethink how governance, compliance, and product delivery operated across the organisation.

Launching a digital bank in nine months required more than rapid software delivery. It demanded a fundamental shift in how Bank Muamalat approached governance, compliance, and product development.

According to Hazrizal Hassan, one of the biggest shifts was adopting what he describes as an “unlearning mindset”.

Rather than treating digital transformation as a traditional banking programme shaped by lengthy approval cycles and expanding operational requirements, the ATLAS team focused on simplifying the customer experience and protecting delivery speed.

That approach became particularly visible during onboarding. By reviewing every operational and compliance requirement individually, the bank reduced a legacy onboarding process from 20 steps to just five, enabling users to open an account remotely in roughly two minutes.

Crucially, this did not come at the expense of regulatory or Shariah compliance. Instead of treating governance as a final-stage review process, Bank Muamalat embedded compliance, risk, and Shariah scholars directly into the delivery cycle from the beginning.

Maintaining that discipline required strict ring-fencing around the MVP. Rather than allowing internal stakeholders to continuously expand the product scope, the bank prioritised customer needs over internal complexity.

That operating model not only accelerated delivery, but also gave the bank the flexibility to rethink what a modern Islamic digital banking experience could look like.

That flexibility shaped more than just the delivery model behind ATLAS. It also influenced how Bank Muamalat approached the customer experience itself.

Rather than positioning Islamic banking purely around compliance, the bank focused on building a platform that fits naturally into the daily routines of faith-conscious customers.

Alongside core banking services, ATLAS integrates lifestyle-focused features including prayer times, daily duas, a zikir counter, an Islamic calendar, a kiblat finder, and zakat and qurban services directly into the platform experience.

Using Mambu’s composable architecture, Bank Muamalat was able to integrate these services through modern APIs rather than relying on lengthy development cycles tied to monolithic legacy systems.

The digital-first model also helped expand access for customer groups often underserved by traditional banking structures, including freelancers, gig economy workers, and digital entrepreneurs.

Customers can now open an account remotely in under five minutes using only a smartphone and a national identity card, removing much of the friction associated with branch-based onboarding.

The platform’s appeal has also extended beyond its initial target demographic. While most ATLAS customers are under 45, the bank has also seen strong adoption among non-Muslim users drawn to the platform’s simplicity, convenience, and rewards ecosystem.

That combination of accessibility, lifestyle integration, and digital convenience quickly translated into measurable commercial growth for the bank.

The commercial impact of ATLAS became visible quickly.

Rather than expanding physical infrastructure, Bank Muamalat positioned the platform as a scalable digital acquisition engine capable of handling customer growth at significantly lower operational cost.

Within its first six months, 61% of customers onboarded through ATLAS were entirely new to the Bank Muamalat ecosystem, highlighting the platform’s ability to reach customers beyond the bank’s existing base.

That growth also translated into strong deposit performance, with 96% of deposits in the first three months post-launch coming from fresh funds transferred from other institutions rather than rebalanced internal accounts.

The platform also improved operational efficiency. By automating onboarding and reducing reliance on manual processes, the bank lowered acquisition costs while continuing to scale account opening capacity digitally.

For Bank Muamalat, the results reinforced the commercial value of the speedboat strategy. Maintaining that level of growth, however, also required close coordination between the bank, its technology partners, and regulators.

For Bank Muamalat, the biggest challenge in launching ATLAS was not the technology itself. It was aligning a modern cloud-native banking platform with regulatory expectations while still delivering a smooth customer experience.

That required close coordination between product, risk, compliance, and regulatory stakeholders throughout the project.

According to Chirag Amla, the partnership model played a critical role in accelerating that process. Rather than acting purely as a software provider, Mambu worked alongside Bank Muamalat and Google Cloud to support regulatory discussions and demonstrate how customer data would be secured within the cloud environment.

That collaborative approach gave regulators early visibility into the platform architecture, security controls, and governance framework, helping the bank move faster without compromising oversight.

The cloud-native SaaS model also reduced the operational burden associated with maintaining and upgrading core infrastructure internally. Rather than building every capability in-house, Bank Muamalat can continuously benefit from platform enhancements, security improvements, and regulatory updates delivered across Mambu’s wider ecosystem.

For incumbent financial institutions approaching modernisation, the ATLAS deployment highlights the importance of combining technology delivery with strong regulatory alignment and execution discipline.

The ATLAS rollout offers a practical example of how banks can modernise core infrastructure without committing to a disruptive enterprise-wide replacement programme from day one.

Bank Muamalat approached modernisation as a business strategy rather than a standalone technology initiative. The focus remained tied to customer acquisition, operational efficiency, and long-term growth rather than transformation for its own sake.

A major reason ATLAS launched within nine months was the bank’s ability to tightly control scope. Ring-fencing the MVP and empowering teams to say no to unnecessary complexity helped maintain delivery momentum.

Rather than treating compliance as a final approval stage, Bank Muamalat integrated risk, compliance, and Shariah stakeholders directly into the delivery process. That allowed the bank to move quickly while maintaining regulatory oversight throughout development.

Perhaps the most important lesson is that meaningful transformation no longer requires a high-risk migration from day one. By using a speedboat strategy, Bank Muamalat is able to modernise gradually, validate new operating models safely, and create measurable business impact early in the journey.

With the foundation now established, the bank is already looking toward the next phase of ATLAS’s evolution.

Bank Muamalat is already focused on the next stage of the ATLAS roadmap.

Future development plans include more advanced personalisation features, customisable app experiences, and tailored product recommendations designed to create a more responsive digital banking journey for customers.

More broadly, the ATLAS deployment demonstrates that large-scale core modernisation no longer needs to begin with a disruptive enterprise-wide replacement programme. By combining a speedboat deployment strategy and Mambu’s composable architecture with disciplined delivery governance, Bank Muamalat was able to modernise incrementally while continuing to scale customer growth and operational efficiency.

The deployment also reflects a wider shift within Islamic banking itself. Competing digitally now requires more than maintaining compliance standards alone. Banks are increasingly expected to deliver fast, intuitive, and accessible experiences that fit naturally into customers’ daily lives.

For Bank Muamalat, ATLAS has become more than a digital banking platform. It now functions as a long-term transformation environment for the wider organisation, allowing the bank to modernise progressively without compromising operational stability.

This milestone also reflects a broader structural shift within the global Islamic financial ecosystem. Competing digitally now requires more than simply translating traditional Shari'ah principles into rigid, legacy architectures; it demands a flexible foundation that can adapt to changing consumer lifestyles in real time. By proving that cloud-native, composable infrastructure can seamlessly support faith-conscious banking at scale, this partnership marks the beginning of a new era for ethical finance across the region.

As Chirag Amla concludes, this successful deployment is just the opening chapter of a much larger industry transformation:

To learn more about the architectural decisions, regulatory strategy, and operational execution behind ATLAS, watch the full interview below.

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