JEDDAH — “Banks in the Middle East need to move from being primarily sales-centric to a balance between sales and customer-centric. Failure to adapt to the changing needs of customers will result in a bank losing market share,” Alex Kwiatkowski, senior Marketing Strategist, Banking and Digital Channels at Misys. Kwiatkowski believes that there are a number of issues facing banks currently including, the replacement of legacy systems and the drive to digitization, the extended use of analytics to improve operational performance and the increased interest from regulators in banking technology. Ahead of the two-day 10th anniversary edition of the Middle East Retail Banking Forum & Expo on April 6-7, 2015 to be held at The Ritz-Carlton DIFC, Dubai, Kwiatkowski noted that new technologies, features and functionality bring enormous advantages, “but their power needs to be harnessed in the right way.” However, in terms of trends in consumer technology, there is an increased sophistication and penetration of smartphones, tablets and – most importantly – the apps which are running on them. In addition there is the proliferation of new apps to perform banking and payment-related tasks and the nascent stage of wearables such as smart watches, which will give banks an opportunity to experiment with new technological innovation. This is presenting banks with a dilemma, he said. The implementation of new technology alone is not enough to transform a bank's performance. Rather it requires the interaction of people, processes and technology working in harmony. There's no point in having a thoroughly modern IT system running old processes, customization should be kept to a minimum, business processes should be adapted to new technology, not the other way around. “Banks must adapt to the increasingly digitally-driven world their customers live in, but should not ignore the physical channels (branch, ATM, contact) in favor of online, mobile and social. Existing banks will succeed based on combining the best elements of traditional banking with the latest advances in technology,” Kwiatkowski added. Around 35 international exhibitors have also confirmed participation including Misys, Temenos, Infosys Finacle, Backbase, Vasco Data Security, Loxon, Bearing Point, Adobe, Fico, Global Payment Services, Omega Financial Solutions and SunGard Retail Banking, with 1,000 visitors representing more than 40 countries expected to visit during the event. “To broaden the appeal of the event still further, this year we have introduced an exhibition, which will showcase the latest technological products and services to a highly-targeted audience. Visitors will also get to hear first-hand the latest innovations in the market through our free seminar program on day one,” said Alex Heuff, Exhibition Director, Fleming Gulf Exhibitions. Other high profile speakers this year include Sanjoy Sen, MD Retail Banking ASPAC for ANZ; David Power, Group Chief – Retail and Private Banking Office, Kuwait Finance House; Suresh Bajpai, Head of Retail Banking, Doha Bank and Rana Zeeshan Saleem, Head of Personal Banking UAE and Retail Banking KSA for Emirates NBD. After opening remarks from Asad Bhatia, Head of Consumer Banking for Ban Nizwa, the two full days of conference sessions will kick off with a day one highlight under the Integrating Retail Banking Technology theme set to be the guru panel session entitled ‘Evaluating the Next Step'. “And getting that wrong could be a costly affair. According to global advisory services firm International Data Corporation, IT spending by financial institutions in the Middle East & Africa region last year were tipped to hit $4.3 billion, up 10.8% year-on-year, and this trend is continuing,” said Heuff. Technological innovation will also be a major focus on day two of the conference with an exciting round table discussion featuring a line-up of tech gurus including Terry Kane, Head of Auto, Finance, Telco and Travel - MENA region for Facebook Inc., who will share expert insight on the latest developments covering everything from mobile payments, cashless transactions and contactless and prepaid payments to online product innovation. — SG
