All over the world, the banking sector is operating in an era of great technological flux, one in which the adage "innovate or die" morphs into a stark and very real message staring the industry in its face.
As technology plays an ever increasing role in the evolution of the banking industry, digital banking uptake continues to rise in the UAE and across the region. McKinsey’s latest research reveals that at least 80 per cent of urban consumers in the UAE now prefer to do a portion of their banking through digital channels. Digitisation in the banking sector is bringing about substantial and tangible benefits in customer service, product development, and in other areas.
Within the digital banking landscape, the action is shifting more and more toward mobile platforms. A study conducted by KPMG last year underlines the growing consumer reliance on mobile solutions to fulfill their banking needs, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE leading the way with a mobile banking adoption rate of 60 per cent and 52 per cent, respectively. Gemalto, the global digital security company, estimates that mobile banking users in the Middle East and Africa will exceed 80 million by 2017.
Banks in the UAE are responding to this shift in consumer preference by stepping up their investment in digital innovation, focusing especially on improving their mobile banking security and user experience. The result has been that consumers in the UAE today benefit from access to the latest in banking technology – whether it is biometrics, augmented reality, or contactless payments.
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Read more:
Mashreq to shed 10 per cent of headcount in next 12 months as artificial intelligence spending pays off
Mashreq Bank starts online-only bank as financial services go digital
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Today, we see that banks are increasingly using advanced analytics to improve their risk assessment and drive revenue. Analytics provide significant opportunities for banks by helping to generate powerful insights that facilitate better, more informed decision-making. Through business-wide use of data and analytics, banks are able to better understand their customers and develop service offerings tailored to their needs.
The concept of "open banking" – which refers to a connected ecosystem of financial services that allows banks to securely and rapidly enhance their digital offerings – is also gaining ground in the UAE. As this ecosystem evolves further, it will bring greater financial transparency for account holders while enhancing security and consumer protection. The UAE Banks Federation has been leading initiatives in developing an open banking platform that will connect the member banks with governmental department ecosystems such as the Emirates Identity Authority.
Perhaps the most disruptive of all emerging technologies is blockchain, which, with its capacity to record anything of value and ensure an unrivalled degree of transaction security, is changing not just the banking and financial industry but the world as we know it.
Not surprisingly, it is Dubai who is leading the blockchain charge. The emirate has outlined its plan to become the first blockchain-powered government in the world by 2020 as part of a move to make government services more efficient and enable thousands of business opportunities in the private sector. This ambitious vision involves implementing blockchain technology in a wide range of sectors including banking, real estate, health care, transportation, urban planning, energy, digital commerce and tourism. And in line with this initiative, The UAE banks federation has established a digital committee with the core objective of utilising the block chain technology to align the financial institutions with the government vision.
Dubai’s leadership in digital innovation received further validation recently when MasterCard released its Digital Evolution Index 2017, which placed Dubai among the world’s "standout digital economies" along with Singapore, the UK, New Zealand, Estonia, Hong Kong and Japan.
With the UAE set to get its own mobile wallet soon with the roll-out of the Emirates Digital Wallet, the pace and extent of digitisation in the country is poised to accelerate further.
This year, we have already seen considerable investment in virtual banking services in the UAE. With technologies such as Robotics Process Automation predicted to replace as many as three-quarters of back and middle office jobs in the banking industry in the next 15 years, it appears clear that – both in the region and around the world – digital is the new battleground for financial services growth.
Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair is the chairman of UAE Banks Federation
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Citizenship-by-investment programmes
United Kingdom
The UK offers three programmes for residency. The UK Overseas Business Representative Visa lets you open an overseas branch office of your existing company in the country at no extra investment. For the UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa, you are required to invest £50,000 (Dh238,000) into a business. You can also get a UK Tier 1 Investor Visa if you invest £2 million, £5m or £10m (the higher the investment, the sooner you obtain your permanent residency).
All UK residency visas get approved in 90 to 120 days and are valid for 3 years. After 3 years, the applicant can apply for extension of another 2 years. Once they have lived in the UK for a minimum of 6 months every year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency (called Indefinite Leave to Remain). After one year of ILR, the applicant can apply for UK passport.
The Caribbean
Depending on the country, the investment amount starts from $100,000 (Dh367,250) and can go up to $400,000 in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take between four to five months to receive a passport.
Portugal
The investment amount ranges from €350,000 to €500,000 (Dh1.5m to Dh2.16m) in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take a maximum of six months to receive a Golden Visa. Applicants can apply for permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after six years.
“Among European countries with residency programmes, Portugal has been the most popular because it offers the most cost-effective programme to eventually acquire citizenship of the European Union without ever residing in Portugal,” states Veronica Cotdemiey of Citizenship Invest.
Greece
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Greece is €250,000, making it the cheapest real estate residency visa scheme in Europe. You can apply for residency in four months and citizenship after seven years.
Spain
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Spain is €500,000. You can apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10 years. It is not necessary to live in Spain to retain and renew the residency visa permit.
Cyprus
Cyprus offers the quickest route to citizenship of a European country in only six months. An investment of €2m in real estate is required, making it the highest priced programme in Europe.
Malta
The Malta citizenship by investment programme is lengthy and investors are required to contribute sums as donations to the Maltese government. The applicant must either contribute at least €650,000 to the National Development & Social Fund. Spouses and children are required to contribute €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents must contribute €50,000 each.
The second step is to make an investment in property of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for at least €16,000 per annum for five years. The third step is to invest at least €150,000 in bonds or shares approved by the Maltese government to be kept for at least five years.
Candidates must commit to a minimum physical presence in Malta before citizenship is granted. While you get residency in two months, you can apply for citizenship after a year.
Egypt
A one-year residency permit can be bought if you purchase property in Egypt worth $100,000. A three-year residency is available for those who invest $200,000 in property, and five years for those who purchase property worth $400,000.
Source: Citizenship Invest and Aqua Properties
The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
}Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
RESULT
Kolkata Knight Riders 169-7 (20 ovs)
Rajasthan Royals 144-4 (20 ovs)
Kolkata win by 25 runs
Next match
Sunrisers Hyderabad v Kolkata Knight Riders, Friday, 5.30pm
The stats
Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
