Page 37 - SAMENA Trends - December 2020

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GCC Payments Industry Set to Leapfrog Other Economies in 2021

Increased digitalization and major shifts the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority that the value of transactions will exceed
in the fintech landscape, accelerated by (SAMA) advised that the country’s cashless $4bn by year end. Buhejji added: “While
the global coronavirus pandemic, will see transactions target of 28 percent by the no-one could have predicted a pandemic,
the GCC payments industry leapfrog other end of 2020 had already been significantly the Gulf has been well prepared. In Bahrain
major economies in 2021. Dalal Buhejji, exceeded with e-transactions making up we laid the groundwork for coping with
financial services director at the Bahrain 37 percent of all financial transaction in this shift in consumer behavior when we
Economic Development Board, said: the kingdom. A similar result emerged in brought in a number of tech-friendly laws
“There is no doubt Covid-19 has catalyzed the UAE, where a survey by Dubai Police, and regulations, introduced a commercial
digitalization across the region, and the Dubai Economy and Visa earlier this year 5G network and brought AWS’ first data
way Gulf citizens spend has changed for revealed that 68 percent of respondents center in the GCC to the kingdom. “Where
good.” In 2020 the Arab Monetary Fund in the UAE have reduced shopping in- previously the Gulf may have been typecast
launched ‘Buna’, a cross-border payments store since the outbreak of the pandemic, as late adopters of emerging technologies,
platform for the Arab World, while the GCC while 49 percent shop more online. In statistics like these show we are not only
countries launched the GCC Payments Bahrain, transactions on payments closing the gap between us and other
Company, which will build and operate a platform BenefitPay are reported to have regions, we will soon be leapfrogging
cross-border, multi-currency, real-time increased by a staggering 367 percent so them. It’s a very dynamic time for the entire
system across the region. Consumers are far this year, crossing the BHD1.5 billion Gulf ecosystem.”
also becoming increasingly comfortable ($3.99bn) threshold in November. With the
with digital payments. In September 2020, festive season approaching, it looks likely

IBM Opens its First-Ever Security Operations Center in Saudi Arabia

US multinational IBM Security announced
the official opening of its first security
operations center in Saudi Arabia. The
Riyadh center will offer IBM’s private and
government sector clients in the Kingdom
the option of managing their security
operations around the clock via the
company’s staff and local infrastructure.
The new facility will focus on supporting
clients responding to cybersecurity
incidents as well as helping manage
emerging threats through real-time
analysis and early warning notification of
security events. IBM Security analysts and
experts will assist clients with expedited Hossam Seif El-Din, IBM Middle East X-Force, there was 40 percent increase
incident investigations and remediation and Pakistan general manager, said in in security incidents in the first three
plans. According to a recent IBM study, a statement. “We are seeing a lot of new months of 2020 globally compared with
data breaches on companies in Saudi threat actors looking to take advantage of the same period in 2019. The opening of
Arabia cost firms $6.53 million on average the confusion and uncertainty surrounding the new IBM Riyadh facility comes after
per breach — higher than the global average COVID-19. Therefore, we are also looking a survey commissioned earlier this year
of $3.86 million per breach. IBM Managed to use the new center to drive education by cybersecurity firm Tenable found that
Security Services manages more than 150 and awareness to help clients defend 95 percent of businesses in the Kingdom
billion security events daily on average. themselves from potential threats,” last year experienced a cyberattack. In
“The launch of IBM’s security operations he added. The rapid shift to remote addition, 85 percent of Saudi respondents
center in Saudi Arabia is a critical workforces amid the pandemic health to the study said that they had witnessed a
investment not only in helping our clients crisis and a corresponding increase in dramatic increase in the number of attacks
respond to ever-increasing cybersecurity attacks by cyber criminals have combined in the past two years. Companies said they
incidents but also in providing them with to create unparalleled cybersecurity had suffered loss of customer or employee
local data residency to support their challenges for organizations across data, ransomware payment demands and
preferences and industry requirements,” the globe. According to IBM Security financial loss or theft.

37 DECEMBER 2020