The (NCSI) has started the Sultanate's first ever public poll on the prize schemes offered by Oman's banks. The poll, which began on 27 November 2016 will end on 15 December 2016.

The poll will cover randomly selected people in Oman belonging to all nationalities, and seeks customers' perception on prize schemes and their fairness and other related issues.

The poll will look at various aspects of prize schemes, including whether the customer chose a particular bank account because of the relevant prize scheme offered by the bank, whether the customer was adequately informed of the terms and conditions of the prize scheme and whether the customer may opt to cancel the account if the bank cancels the scheme.

Are the prize schemes in compliance with the customer's religious beliefs, and do the customers prefer big prize draws every year or small draws every month or quarter are also part of the questionnaire.

Other questions include whether the prize schemes will encourage more savings, and whether they can be considered a good investment option. Will prize schemes strengthen customer loyalty, as well as whether low interest rate is the reason for the popularity of such schemes are also explored through the poll.

It also asks whether the customer believes that the prize draws are held in a fair and transparent manner, and seeks to know if they prefer cancellation of prize schemes in favour of higher interest rates.

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