Digital transformation accelerating across region

Presented by Khaleej Times, the virtual summit brings together several experts to explore the recent changes in the industry and how banks are looking to new technology to improve customer experiences.

“Banks are not sitting still,” said Subroto Som, senior executive vice president and head of Retail Banking Group at Mashreq Bank. “They are spending millions of dirhams on their digitisation drives. Many traditional banks started their digitisation drives by focusing on certain of their channels such as online and mobile banking. While these had many benefits, their core technologies remained the same.”

He revealed that Mashreq decided that this should not be the case early on. “We had to look at a complete transformation. We have to be open to working in new ways, with collaboration and partnerships as the new norm.”

Banks, he added, have access to a lot of consumer data today. “There is a lot of potential with what we can do with this data. With data analytics, it is possible to customise products and your approach for each individual customer. This will result in greater customer satisfaction and reduced operating costs.”

Recent research has shown that banks in the Meta region will spend up to $40 billion on technology by 2022. Officials noted that using technology has always been a necessity for the banking sector to stay ahead of the curve. GCC countries remain focused on strengthening the key sector by using banking technology as the catalyst. Supported by strong leadership and cooperative regulators, they have always aimed to deliver the best of products and services while reducing operational costs and the turnaround time involved.

Pankaj Asthaana, vice president of Digital Payment & Labs, MENA Mastercard, said that consumers are moving towards digital at an unprecedented rate. “Most of the commerce that has happened has been through their mobile devices; not through their PCs or laptops. This is a major trend that has shaped our digital approach. We have seen a phenomenal shift in how banks have accelerated their shift towards the digital revolution. The focus now should be on banks investing in their digital channels.”

“We are also seeing a lot of partnerships with Fintech operators,” he added. “There is a lot of innovation that is happening in this sector and such partnerships help us to create better solutions. We are also working alongside governments towards a more mature ecosystem.”

Ayman AlQudsi, CIO at United Arab Bank, also highlighted the role that data will play in the long-term approach. “We have enhanced the technology, reduced the turnaround time, and we have helped our staff to work more efficiently from home. Data is the key to faster processing, better service, and faster decision making. Digital is moving very fast and we need regulations to catch up to this innovation.”

Technology remains a key differentiator, especially in the financial services sector, said Yuri Misnik, group chief technology officer at First Abu Dhabi Bank.

However, transformation, simply for the sake of transformation, is a very limited approach that will set banking institutions back in the long run. “Recently, we have seen several small and unknown players that have emerged in the finance industry to capture large shares of the market, and we know that in traditional banking if we don’t change fast and grab this technology, then we will be left behind.”

“For technology to be an effective enabler, it needs to work hand in hand with the business at two levels: both upstream to articulate the business strategy as well as downstream in implementing it. The future is all about agile, cross-functional service teams that will leverage strong technology foundations to jointly deliver tangible business outcomes.”