Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad (Bank Muamalat) has built ATLAS as a digital bank within the bank, using a cloud-native architecture to expand Shariah-compliant banking without depending on its legacy core. The platform gives the bank a separate technology stack for digital onboarding, deposits, payments, financing and Islamic lifestyle services, while preserving the governance, amanah and integrity principles expected of an Islamic financial institution.

Malaysian banks are under pressure to lower acquisition costs, serve younger customers and deliver faster digital services. For Bank Muamalat, the challenge was not only technology modernisation but also meeting the expectations of a digitally connected generation seeking seamless and branch-free banking experiences while remaining aligned with Islamic values. ATLAS addresses that gap by combining banking services with features such as prayer times, Qibla direction, Zakat calculation and Qurban services.

Launched publicly on 4 June 2025, ATLAS is positioned as a new growth engine rather than a separate licensed digital bank. The distinction matters: it allows Bank Muamalat to modernise its operating model and test digital-first propositions while staying within the structure, licence and Shariah governance of the existing institution.

A digital growth engine inside an incumbent

Hazrizal described ATLAS as a digital arm built inside the bank to support growth and update its enterprise architecture. ATLAS onboarded 20,000 customers in the first nine months after launch. Of these customers, 60% were new to Bank Muamalat and 80% under 45 years old.

The bank reported that 90% of ATLAS deposits were fresh funds drawn from other banks. The platform processed MYR 250 million (about $57 million) in transactions over nine months and recorded 60,000 to 70,000 monthly transactions. In savings account customer acquisition terms, ATLAS was performing at a level comparable to 70 physical branches, but with a lower operating cost base.

Branch-free onboarding cuts acquisition cost by 73%

Bank Muamalat reported that customer acquisition cost fell from MYR 800 (about $182) per customer through traditional channels to MYR 220 (about $50) through ATLAS, a 73% reduction. This reflects the effect of branch-free onboarding, automated verification and reduced manual intervention.

ATLAS supports fully digital account opening, with the fastest recorded onboarding time of under two minutes. Straight-through processing ran at approximately 95% to 96%, Hazrizal said, while 90% of processes are fully automated, with exceptions routed to back-office review for fraud or risk checks.

Some 70% of ATLAS customers were active in 2025, above the bank's target of 60%. The bank also reported 8% average monthly sign-ups and 20% to 30% monthly transaction growth. These indicators demonstrate that ATLAS is not merely a technology initiative, but a strategic platform supporting customer acquisition, engagement and long-term growth.

A separate stack decouples ATLAS from legacy systems

ATLAS operates on a private cloud environment built on Google Cloud Platform, with Mambu providing the SaaS-based core banking layer and Backbase providing the digital engagement layer for the mobile app.

The migration plan covers existing Bank Muamalat customers and is expected to continue towards 2028. Rather than a single cutover, the bank is taking a phased approach, starting with credentials migration and gradually moving products and services onto ATLAS.

Hazrizal said: "The shift to a cloud-native infrastructure enables us to overcome the limitations of legacy systems while improving agility, scalability and speed-to-market for new banking solutions. More importantly, it allows us to deliver a seamless customer experience without compromising on security, governance and Shariah compliance."

The bank achieved 99.99% system uptime for the ATLAS production environment and transaction processing speeds of one to two seconds in 2025. Hazrizal also cited a 50% reduction in time to introduce new products or features, and about 20% lower infrastructure cost compared with a traditional model.

Islamic lifestyle features anchor customer engagement

ATLAS embeds Islamic lifestyle services — Zakat calculation, prayer times, Qibla direction, mosque locator, Islamic calendar and Qurban services — into the same mobile environment as payments, deposits and financing.

These features position ATLAS as more than a transactional banking app. By integrating everyday faith-based services with core financial functions, Bank Muamalat is using the platform to build more frequent customer interaction and deepen digital engagement within a Shariah-compliant ecosystem.

Hazrizal added that ATLAS was designed not only to simplify banking transactions, but also to support customers in their daily Islamic lifestyle journey through a trusted and values-driven digital experience.

AI extends from onboarding to Shariah governance

ATLAS uses AI in areas central to regulated digital banking: eKYC, AML, operations and fraud monitoring. These controls support faster onboarding while helping the bank identify cases that need further review.

The platform uses Google Cloud's generative AI capabilities to help internal teams query Shariah rulings and compliance documentation in natural language. According to Hazrizal, this reduces the time required to retrieve complex rulings from hours to seconds.

Hazrizal emphasised that while AI improves efficiency and responsiveness, all decisions remain guided by strong governance, human oversight and the principles of amanah and integrity that underpin Islamic banking.

Financing integration marks next growth phase

Bank Muamalat has begun linking ATLAS more directly to financing. The bank integrated its financing application form into the ATLAS app and recorded 575 applications from July to December 2025.

Hazrizal noted that ATLAS began generating financing assets in July, with a 5% profit rate campaign supporting early deposit growth. He also said that the bank wants to move beyond just offering high profit rates, choosing instead to reward customers through seasonal campaigns and app engagement. 

Future development is expected to include wider migration of existing customers, expanded product functionality and further Islamic finance features such as crowdfunding and investment tools. The bank is also considering AI-assisted payment features, including voice banking and AI-enabled assistants for transactions and product enquiries.

Early results point to a replicable model, if scale holds

The next test will be scale. Bank Muamalat must migrate a large legacy customer base, maintain service quality across platforms and ensure that new Islamic lifestyle and financing features add value rather than complexity. It must also maintain trust as AI becomes more embedded in onboarding, monitoring and governance processes.

ATLAS gives Bank Muamalat a clearer position in Malaysia's Islamic banking market. It offers a cloud-native channel that lowers acquisition cost, supports faster product delivery and brings faith-based services into the customer experience.

As Islamic banking continues to evolve in the digital era, ATLAS reflects Bank Muamalat’s broader ambition to modernise responsibly — combining innovation, operational agility and customer-centric experiences while remaining firmly grounded in Shariah principles, trust and integrity.