Banking goes branchless

Ritika Sharma / Emirates Business

Banking sector in the country is witnessing a massive makeover. Mobile banking, which has been emerging as one of the fastest growing segments over the last couple of years, is sure to change the way we have known the industry for decades.
UAE is gearing up for the surging trend, which would put an end to hassles of going to a physical branch, waiting in queues and trying to figure out which employee can assist you.
Mashreq Bank, one of UAE’s leading financial institutions, has recently strengthened its position in the mobile banking territory by rolling-out a new concept of an E-Account — the only 100 percent online current account — where UAE residents are opening a bank account on the bank’s website. It is a simple and an effortless process.
“With most banks, new customers have to visit the branch to complete the account opening process; often associated with queues, delays and, essentially, frustration. The E-Account challenges all that, making the process of account opening a lot less cumbersome and much more rewarding,” said Tooran Asif, regional head of Personal Banking at Mashreq, in an official statement.
This technology is capable of bringing more new customers on-board in a digital way and taking the concept of convenient banking to a completely different level. Also concepts like e-wallets and Bitcoin are assisting in making a ‘branch-less’ future a reality.
Talking about the digital disruption, Sanjoy Sen, managing director – retail banking Asia Pacific, AANZ, said during the Retail banking Expo, “People are getting involved in intensive banking through their mobile phones and other digital devices. There is a disruption of technology which the banks should be well aware of. Most important is to know the needs of the rapidly smart-phone engaged customers.”
Growing consumer preferences for digital and mobile banking has fuelled strong growth in online and mobile channels. In the UAE alone, about 82 percent of the banking consumers use at least one digital banking channel.
“With the rise in digital transactions, banks are in the need of nimble architecture that enables them to scale and deal with these transactions and to respond to smart consumer’s demands much more rapidly,” Sen added.
With the rapid rise of smart-phone users across the emerging markets, banking experts believe soon consumers might not need the physical bank branches at all. Smart-phones are now a way of life in the Middle East, where 98 percent of population owning at least one smart device and this makes it absolutely essential for banking industry to get digitally upgraded.
Nayala Hassan, who is working with a nationalised bank in Abu Dhabi, told Emirates Business, “I am also a big fan of mobile banking and want more and more services to be associated with it. Besides adding to the comfort-level of clients, it also cuts various unwanted costs of the bank. Many time we come across customers who express anguish when we request them to personally visit a branch for some formality. Therefore it is the right time to enhance the scope of mobile banking.”