Banking News – UAE-based digital Islamic community bank ruya has entered into a long-term strategic partnership with Magure, a UAE-headquartered enterprise AI company, to transform itself into an AI-native bank, embedding artificial intelligence across customer service, operations, and risk management rather than deploying AI through isolated projects.

The announcement follows the successful launch of the partnership’s first production milestone, with three agentic AI use cases now live at ruya. Developed and implemented by Magure, the AI-powered solutions are already enhancing business account onboarding by automating document analysis, verification checks, and case summaries, allowing bank employees to focus on decision-making instead of manual paperwork.

The bank said several other routine banking processes are also being completed faster and with greater accuracy. Every workflow maintains human oversight, ensuring that all critical decisions remain under the control of bank personnel.

“We didn’t set out to run AI projects—we set out to build a bank where intelligence is part of the foundation,” said Christoph Koster, CEO of ruya. “As an ethical, Shari’ah-compliant bank, we hold ourselves to a high standard on how technology treats our customers and their data. This partnership lets us move fast on AI without ever compromising on that. Everything runs inside our own environment, governed end to end, with a UAE partner who shares our ambition for this country.”

A key feature of the deployment is that the entire AI infrastructure operates within ruya’s private cloud using open-source large language models (LLMs) fully integrated with the bank’s internal systems. According to the companies, no personally identifiable customer information leaves the bank’s infrastructure, ensuring full ownership, security, and control over AI capabilities.

Akhil Koka, CEO of Magure, said many banks are investing in AI, but very few are fundamentally designed around it.

“ruya is that rare digital-first bank, with no legacy core to fight, and leadership willing to make intelligence part of the foundation rather than a project on the side. What’s live today isn’t a pilot or a demo. It’s production AI doing real work inside a regulated bank, every day,” he said.

From AI Projects to an AI-Native Banking Platform

Unlike traditional approaches where banks build separate AI solutions for individual use cases, ruya has adopted a single governed AI architecture powered by Magure’s flagship enterprise AI platform, MagOneAI.

The unified AI platform is designed to support every layer of banking operations, including customers, operations, risk, compliance, and employees.

Under the partnership, the three live AI deployments represent the first phase of a broader transformation roadmap covering:

• Collections
• Compliance
• Credit support
• AI-powered customer assistant
• Personalized banking services
• Customer analytics
• RuyaAI, a secure AI assistant built on the bank’s internal knowledge base for employees

The companies said using one centralized AI governance platform allows new capabilities to move from development to production in weeks rather than months, while maintaining complete auditability and regulatory oversight.

“The hardest part is behind us: the platform, the governance and the sovereign foundation are in place,” Koka added. “From here, every new capability ships on rails that already exist. This is a long-term partnership, and we’re just getting started.”

AI Built Around Responsible Banking

The partnership has been designed to align with the UAE’s national AI strategy and the Central Bank of the UAE’s expectations for responsible AI in licensed financial institutions.

According to the companies, the platform incorporates:

• Board-level AI governance
• Human oversight for high-impact decisions
• Transparency and explainability
• Consumer protection
• Role-based access controls
• Centralized monitoring
• Cost tracking
• Comprehensive audit trails

Magure stated that its MagOneAI platform embeds responsible AI principles directly into its architecture through mandatory human review points before important decisions are finalized.

The company holds internationally recognized certifications including:

• ISO 9001
• ISO 27001
• ISO 42001 (AI Governance)
• SOC 2 Type II

These certifications provide independently verified assurance across quality management, information security, and AI governance.

Faster, Smarter Banking Experience

Koster said customers—including entrepreneurs, SMEs, families, and communities across the UAE—will benefit from significantly faster banking services.

“Our customers feel this as a bank that simply moves faster and knows them better. Accounts opened in a fraction of the time, transactions processed without delay, and service that doesn’t sleep. That is what AI should mean for banking: invisible where it should be, and accountable everywhere,” he said.

About Magure

Magure is a UAE-headquartered, DIFC-registered enterprise AI company with delivery centers in India and operations in the United States. Its flagship platform, MagOneAI, enables organizations to build, deploy, and govern enterprise AI agents on their own infrastructure using any large language model.

The company currently serves more than 80 enterprise customers across government, financial services, healthcare, and major conglomerates, with over 60 AI deployments already running in production. Its technology and deployment partners include NVIDIA, AWS, Microsoft Azure, Oracle, and Huawei.

About ruya

Headquartered in Ajman, ruya (Ruya Islamic Community Bank LLC) was launched in 2024 as a digital-first Islamic community bank licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE as a Specialized Bank.

The bank combines digital banking technology with Islamic banking principles while emphasizing fairness, transparency, financial inclusion, and community development. It supports individuals, entrepreneurs, SMEs, and families through digital banking services as well as community-focused branches. ruya is also certified as a Great Place to Work®, reflecting its commitment to an inclusive workplace culture.