Fintech
FinTech LIVE Dubai: Experts Discuss GCC Transformation in Open Banking
TO FinTech LIVE In Dubai, we spoke to Srinivasan Sampath, Acting Group Chief Technology Officer at First Abu Dhabi Bank, and Amr Naguib, AVP, Head of Digital Banking Ecosystem, Innovation and Digital Payments at Mashreq Egypt, about how digitalization and Open Banking have revolutionized financial institutions and the financial services industry in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.
The Rise of Open Banking in the GCC
First Abu Dhabi Bank’s Srinivasan highlights the rise of Open Banking in the region, with Bahrain and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) already implementing Open Banking capabilities, while the UAE is set to launch in Q3 2024.
The adoption represents a sea change in the region, which is becoming an interesting prospect for fintech companies looking to expand their services in the market.
“Open banking will be one of the key capabilities that the financial system will need to open up the banking platform across the entire ecosystem,” Srinivasan says.
“Because, as you know, the digital ecosystem in every region and every country is accelerating and really reaching the speed that is needed to leverage different capabilities.
“This is a great initiative, which will be of great help to the entire environment and the financial ecosystem.”
Customer Experience Evolution
For Amr of Mashreq Egypt, the most significant impact of Open Banking in the region is the transformative impact on customer expectations.
“Customers today are looking for faster, more reliable, and seamless digital experiences,” he says. “No one wants to go to a branch anymore. No one wants to do the comparison shopping for products and services on their own.”
And they don’t have to. Open Banking allows customers to access multiple financial services through a single platform, allowing for account aggregation and competitive pricing.
Srinivasan notes, “At the endpoint itself, customers will be able to get many financial services from various other competing partners at very competitive prices.”
Just as in Western markets, traditional financial institutions in the GCC countries need to start thinking about how to launch new, innovative products and services that offer this new type of digital experience to their customers.
In Egypt, Amr says that a cautious approach is being taken to adopting Open Banking: “Egypt is not taking small steps, but more cautious and steady steps towards Open Banking. It has started by enabling payments, instant payments in all banks and financial and non-financial service providers.”
Is there room for an Open Banking boom in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries?
While these are early steps today, this does not mean that the Gulf Cooperation Council region is not on the path to further Open Banking adoption. On the contrary, this is just the beginning.
As Srinivasan explains: “We are just scratching the surface. The scope and benefits of the different use cases and services that can come into Open Banking are quite broad.”
“I think there are many, many types of use cases that emerge when you start opening up ecosystems to other providers and third-party providers. And third-party providers are hungry to provide a bundle of services to their customers.”
Both speakers are clear: Open Banking is set to revolutionize the financial landscape in the Gulf Cooperation Council region in the years to come.
More news coming in 2024…
FinTech LIVE will host two more events in 2024: