Vimal Sethi

The Middle East is on the brink of a digital banking transformation. It’s visible everywhere from the billions being invested in cloud infrastructure to become the next AI superpower, to the luminaries who flocked to this week’s Dubai FinTech Summit. Our colleagues from Lab49 attended the event and noted that in addition to a heavy emphasis on AI, there was a lot of focus on how the financial arena is being disrupted. A confluence of events is driving change. There is the diversification of economies beyond oil, the emergence of a growing number of funds and startups, as well as the appearance of foreign competition including neo banks such as Revolut and Alipay. Lab49 established a presence in the UAE a few years ago anticipating the need for large banks to reimagine their customer touchpoints, and in turn their underlying data and services infrastructure. The fintech summit attracted more than 8,000 people from 118 countries, including Charith Mendis, Head of Worldwide Banking Industry at AWS; Michael Demissie, Head of Applied AI and Practice at Bank of New York; Kfir Godrich, Chief Innovation Officer at Blackrock and Alfonso Castillo, President & CEO of Santander’s U.S. Private Bank. One notable speaker was Nik Storonsky, Founder & CEO of Revolut, a bank created in 2015 that has taken Europe by storm. It has attracted 35 million customers in 38 countries by offering digital-native and mobile-first banking services. Storansky said that Revolut is in the process of applying for a banking license in the region and expects to be operational in 2025. The expansion of digital services in the Middle East has led to an unprecedented increase in the number of people with access to financial services. It was that kind of promise that prompted Mashreq Neo to open the first digital bank in the region in 2017. Mashreq Neo offers a mobile-first banking experience, including transactional accounts, savings accounts, person-to-person payments, insurance, and investment products. For the established banks, a lot of the challenge comes down to offering new products and services, and distributing them in new ways for a changing business demographic while rapidly overcoming their legacy constraints.  Young tech-savvy entrepreneurs expect digital native experiences. Even mature businesses want easier and more efficient ways to manage tax payments, treasury operations, cross border payments, and employee compensation. They want the ability to make wire payments without paying exorbitant fees. Neo banks have grown fast worldwide, but many have struggled to reach profitability in the U.S., the world’s largest market. AI will also be a wildcard. Startups benefit from agility, but incumbents have reams of data and analytics that could help them better anticipate and service client needs. For the incumbent institutions there are risks, but also big opportunities.

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The Prime Time for Real-Time 2024 report published by ACI Worldwide hailed Bahrain as a leader in the Middle East and one of the most developed payment markets in the region. The Kingdom is actively contributing to developing the region's instant payments market through collaborations with fintechs and a widespread adoption fueled by increasing familiarity with mobile apps and e-wallets. Adding to these rankings, the report predicts that 77% of all transactions in Bahrain by 2028 will be real-time payments - a rising catalyst to financial inclusion and economic growth.

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The #UAE is making rapid strides in AI adoption and development, according to the IBM Global AI Adoption Index 2023. UAE businesses are taking a proactive approach to integrating AI capabilities into their core processes, setting a benchmark for the region. IBM is working closely with public and private sector clients in the UAE to help them leverage #watsonx on their path to AI. In the video below from the AI For Business Summit, I had the opportunity to discuss this. Saad Toma, Bishu Panigrahi, Mostafa Zafer, Mohammad Abubaker, Ahmad TAHA, Irfan Verjee, Mohamad Yassine, Jumana Akkawi https://lnkd.in/dfYjwDTg

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Exciting news! ServiceNow is launching the UAE Cloud hosted on Microsoft Azure, with a targeted delivery in the first half of 2025. This collaboration aligns with our joint commitment to transforming businesses across the UAE, both in the public and private sectors. Kudos to the ServiceNow and Microsoft teams for making this local cloud a reality! Stay tuned for updates. #AI #BusinessTransformation #ServiceNowSummitDubai12 #msftadvocate

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Another step further in designing #UAE as a #AI hub. As soon as a country shows a strong commitment in a challenge the #businesses follow. Beyond the hype #AI is going to reshape the way we imagine the strategies in every business, and #MENA region seems to look far beyond...

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ACI Worldwide's 2024 Prime Time for Real-Time report has revealed that the Middle East is the FASTEST growing market for real-time payments for the SECOND year running 👏 🏛 💸 Governments in the region are implementing real-time payment schemes where businesses and consumers are REAPING the benefits; and is propelling the region into a NEW ERA of financial transformation 🤯 📈 The Middle East ALSO saw a remarkable YoY growth of 33.6% in 2023 with 855 million real-time payment transactions and last year marked a significant milestone as Oman, Kuwait and Qatar each launched their OWN national real-time payment schemes, 👨‍💻 “Real-time payments eliminate payment friction, inject greater liquidity into the system, and promote economic growth and financial inclusion. Yet, their full potential can only be realized when banks transcend legacy silo systems. With real-time payment schemes now operational in every GCC nation, local banks are at a pivotal juncture where they must harness technological evolution as the catalyst for innovation. The path to innovation lies in modernizing and future-proofing their infrastructure, enabling them to fully leverage the potential of real-time payments,” said Santhosh Rao, Senior Vice President, Sales at ACI Worldwide MEASA. “Active collaboration is the cornerstone of a thriving real-time payment ecosystem, fostering an environment where banks must navigate a delicate balance of competition and cooperation with emerging market players. The world’s most successful real-time payment schemes, exemplified by India’s achievements, showcase a myriad of real-time payment methods via QR codes, mobile apps, or online accounts, pushing the boundaries of innovative use cases. With the Middle East leading the world in real-time payments growth, financial institutions should seize the opportunity to carefully study these successes and extract valuable insights to inspire the launch of their own pioneering real-time payment solutions.” Read the report on the link below! 👇 #aciworldwide #payments #middleeast #realtimepayments #gcc #digitaleconomy #mobilepayments #paymentsolutions

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🌟 Exciting Growth in Digital Banking in the UAE 🌟 Digital banks in the UAE are booming! Our CEO, Ghady Rayess, discusses the transformative role of the UAE Central Bank and FinTech innovations in a recent feature at Al Bayan Newspaper. Discover how new licenses, diverse payment solutions, and AI are shaping the future of finance. Read the full article 👇 #DigitalBanking #FinTech #Innovation #UAE

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Against the backdrop of the #DubaiFintechSummit, the Central Bank of the UAE has issued two new regulations aimed at promoting innovation and growth for both fintechs and traditional financial institutions. In our latest Tech Insight Gabriella Savastano covers key takeaways from the summit and outlines the impact of new regulations issued introducing a #sandbox and an #openfinance regulatory framework.

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The Future of Banking is Here!   Monty Finance SAL CEO, Antoni Lorfing, explores how emerging technologies will revolutionize the digital banking landscape.  Watch the interview and discover how we're shaping the future of finance. #DigitalBanking #MontyFinance #EmergingTech MontyMobile #WAS19 #GSMA #Istanbul #MMWAS19 #TeamTalks

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👩‍💻 As technology and consumer demands continue to evolve at pace, how can banks in the Middle East adapt while mitigating risk? In this episode of Cheque Point by Finance Middle East, Rudy Kawmi, Finastra's MD - Universal Banking MEA, discusses topics such as the role of Open APIs, data analytics and #AI, strategies for effective core #bankingtransformation, and the power of #openfinance for sustainability and inclusion. Listen here 👉 https://okt.to/XjwQR9

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QNB announced the launch of Qatar’s Open Banking API services, custom-crafted for corporate clients. The goal is to enrich QNB's corporate bank e-channels with Beyond Banking Value-Added services. With the introduction of these open banking APIs, companies gain direct interaction capabilities with the bank through API calls. The range of services spans from transaction initiation to service and information requests, enabling companies to integrate seamlessly with the bank while leveraging their personalized internal platforms and processes. This level of flexibility ensures that clients can tailor their banking interactions to suit their specific needs and circumstances. The service is now accessible to all corporate clients and service providers, both locally in Qatar and at all QNB branches worldwide. (Image by FactsNet) #QNB #OpenBanking #API #CorporateBanking #FinancialInnovation #DigitalTransformation #Fintech

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The Islamic finance industry continues to grow worldwide, surpassing Dh16.5 trillion in 2022 and is forecast to grow to Dh24.5 trillion by 2027. Nivetha Dayanand speaks to Christoph Koster, CEO of ruya, about how the UAE bank is leveraging technology to offer Sharia-compliant digital banking services. Follow the link for more information: https://lnkd.in/dfaVi7NP #ruya #digitalbanking #islamicfinance #financemiddleeast

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The world of payments is undergoing a rapid transformation, with new technologies and methods emerging all the time. This is driven by factors like growing demand for faster & more convenient #payment options. #visa #creditCard

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Mashreq has unveiled a new API-enabled instant payments service for its corporate and institutional clients, seamlessly integrated with the Central Bank of UAE’s Aani or Instant Payment Platform (IPP). With this development, Mashreq becomes one of the first financial institutions in the UAE to provide API-based real-time payment capabilities for domestic fund transfers, account-to-account transfers, and bulk transfers. The bank's corporate online banking channels are now fully integrated with the Aani or IPP platform, with plans to expand its Corporate API proposition as part of its new transaction banking digital strategy. Mashreq is committed to supporting its corporate clients with round-the-clock, 24/7/365 faster payments, with no cut-off times and payment limits up to AED 50,000, all integrated within CBUAE’s Aani. Aani, operated by Al Etihad Payments (a CBUAE subsidiary), is a component of the CBUAE’s National Payment Systems Strategy (NPSS), displaying a significant step towards a digitized, cashless economy in the UAE. Mashreq, alongside seven other financial institutions in the UAE, led the first stage of Aani’s implementation. API (Application Programming Interface) refers to the communication link between systems, enabling data transfer between different applications. It acts like a messenger, delivering requests from one application to another. APIs are key enablers of digital transformation, helping organizations digitize, connect, and innovate new products and services. Instant Payment APIs will significantly enhance customer experience, operational agility, and speed of payments in real-time. (Image by SOM) #DigitalBanking #InstantPayments #CorporateBanking #FintechInnovation #UAE #MiddleEastBusiness

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I’m delighted to share that #du will deploy Oracle Alloy to offer hyperscale cloud and Sovereign AI services for the government and public sector entities in Dubai and other Emirates.    It has been a tremendous honour to announce this milestone partnership at the prestigious AI Retreat, held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.   With Oracle Alloy, du will offer more than 100 Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) services from its local data centre together with its own value-added cloud services and applications. This will enable du to become the first local hyperscale cloud provider to offer a comprehensive set of cloud services branded under its portfolio.   du’s cloud services will be customized to meet the specific needs of the UAE markets and industry verticals, while complying with national regulatory requirements.    du will also benefit from #Oracle and #NVIDIA’s collaboration, enabling it to offer Sovereign #AI capabilities powered by its GPU-as-a-Service to UAE government entities. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dWn_8wuh Fahad Al Hassawi, Jasim Al Awadi, Richard Smith

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About time to talk in length about Super Apps in Fintech in GCC region 🥳🎉 however, I could still AI being looked as " hype " by the banking industry, at least here!! is this a Barnes n Noble for the legacy banks 🤷‍♂️ or will they be mandated to change.. interesting times !! #bankingsummit

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KSA Financial Industry Leaders in GTB and Digital meet together discussing next week - Convergence of Cash and Trade/Supply Chain Finance , Key Trends driving Digitisation aligning to robust KSA Vision 2030 including evolving AI adoption along with few more interesting insights to share.

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The GCC is swiftly adopting instant payment services, signaling a significant shift in economic transformation. From the UAE’s Aani to Saudi Arabia’s Sarie, these innovations are set to revolutionize financial services, enhancing customer experiences and spurring economic growth.  https://lnkd.in/d6zjtGrt #InstantPayments

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Over the past financial year Infinigate continued to grow despite the challenging economic climate, with the MEA region enjoying double-digit growth. 📈 Today, we unveil our growth plans for the financial year ahead, including key focus areas such as: 🤝Strengthening our partnerships ☁️Accelerating the development of our SaaS business 🚀Enriching the value proposition of our Cloud Center of Excellence To learn more, click here: https://lnkd.in/eNWMYErd #Cybersecurity #Growth #FinancialYear

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