All over the world, the banking sector is operating in an era of great technological flux, one in which the adage "innovate or die" morphs into a stark and very real message staring the industry in its face.
As technology plays an ever increasing role in the evolution of the banking industry, digital banking uptake continues to rise in the UAE and across the region. McKinsey’s latest research reveals that at least 80 per cent of urban consumers in the UAE now prefer to do a portion of their banking through digital channels. Digitisation in the banking sector is bringing about substantial and tangible benefits in customer service, product development, and in other areas.
Within the digital banking landscape, the action is shifting more and more toward mobile platforms. A study conducted by KPMG last year underlines the growing consumer reliance on mobile solutions to fulfill their banking needs, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE leading the way with a mobile banking adoption rate of 60 per cent and 52 per cent, respectively. Gemalto, the global digital security company, estimates that mobile banking users in the Middle East and Africa will exceed 80 million by 2017.
Banks in the UAE are responding to this shift in consumer preference by stepping up their investment in digital innovation, focusing especially on improving their mobile banking security and user experience. The result has been that consumers in the UAE today benefit from access to the latest in banking technology – whether it is biometrics, augmented reality, or contactless payments.