GCC fintech startups cash in on millennial banking needs

DUBAI / Emirates Business

GCC Financial Technology (FinTech) startups are cashing in on the always-connected banking habits of Millennials, say industry experts ahead of GITEX 2016. There is a surge in growth of “moneyhawks” — the high-income, and under-35-year-old customers who want constant mobile access to their banking and finance accounts.
Banks often struggle to profit from their customers. The bottom 28 percent of customers give a 22 percent profit loss, due to cashing checks at branches or not paying back loans. Moneyhawks are only 16 percent of banks’ customers, but generate the majority of profit, especially from digital payments, according to the Database Marketing Institute.
Millennials in the UAE are a key target for banks. About 60 percent of the population is under 25 years old, and the GDP per capita is over USD 48,000, the second-highest in the Middle East and North Africa, according to a recent report by the Kuwait Financial Center, Markaz.
“UAE Millennials do not want to wait at bank branches – they want constant, secure, and easy access to their banking and financial from their mobile devices. As a result, more banks are establishing partnerships with FinTech startups, which can drive digital payment innovation with a more agile mindset,” said Abdirizak Ibrahim Salah, Co-Founder of Trriple, a UAE-based digital payments startup.
Global investors are pouring money into FinTech firms. Investment grew by 75 percent from USD 13 billion in 2014 to USD 22 billion by 2015, according to a recent Accenture report.
At last year’s GITEX, Trriple launched as a company and signed a partnership with Ericsson on mobile wallet solutions in banking and Smart Cities. Trriple returns this year to showcase digital payment innovations, and exhibit alongside FinTech startups at the GITEX Startup Movement.
“Cash represents 75 percent of the UAE’s total payments – leading to a fragmented payment space for consumers, businesses, and banks. Innovative FinTech startups can use mobile apps to transform the UAE consumer payments space, leading to a cashless society by 2018,” added Abdirizak Ibrahim Salah. At GITEX Technology Week 2016, Trriple will exhibit in Hall 6, along with their partner ecosystem.