Most of us recognise the words “bank error in your favour” from the stack of community chest cards in Monopoly, the popular board game that has spurred family rancour and ribbing since 1935. But few of us have bumped up against them in the real world. A bank admitting its mistake and compensating a customer – how often does that happen?
No wonder, perhaps, that Hasbro, the game’s manufacturer, has been canvassing people for suggestions of how to make the cards more in tune with modern life.
Updated community chest cards may see bank errors and beauty contests being retired and replaced by more contemporary scenarios. Winning business at an influencers’ conference or meme stocks soaring in your favour are two of my favourites, but we will find out soon enough how the new cards stack up, Hasbro says.
It is, of course, a truism to say that banking has changed a lot since Monopoly gave the pre-war world a taste of property empires, aggressive acquisitions and mortgages. We’ve moved from bowler hat-wearing bank managers holding all the cards back then to robo-advisers helping customers today.
However, two recent interactions with my bank suggest the sector has made lightning advances in some areas but may be lagging behind in others. Both incidents give some perspective on what the sector needs to do to prepare for today and tomorrow.
Let’s start with the timely intervention.
Early last month I received a string of text messages saying my bank had declined several attempted purchases from an outlet in the US. I was in the UAE at the time.
When I called the bank, which I won’t name, they said they regarded the purchases as suspicious, which they undoubtedly were. They blocked the card and delivered a replacement within 48 hours.
This was exactly the kind of Minority Report-inspired pre-emptive strike that I’d hope modern financial institutions would make to combat fraud. It’s really good that my bank was so switched on to this threat.
Few of us have had 'bank errors in our favour' in real life
Official figures vary, but at least one in four of us has been subject to phishing attacks. It is a statistic that is only likely to get worse and is also probably chronically underreported. Fear of being judged or victim-blamed tends to stop people publicly admitting they have fallen prey to scammers.
And now for the less satisfactory story.
Last week I tried to pay my credit card bill on my bank’s mobile app, but the platform had a technical fault and told me to try again. I did, and the payment eventually went through.
When I checked my balance afterwards, the amount had been debited twice from my current account.
Only one payment had made it to settle my credit card bill, however, while the other was lost in the digital ether. It wasn’t in my account nor was it registered as a duplicate payment against my credit card. I was more than Dh15,000 ($4,080) out of pocket and that’s a problem, because the end of the summer is an expensive time of year for many families, including mine.
When I called the bank I found myself stepping back on to the call centre carousel, something I wrote about a few years ago after falling victim to credit card fraud, as I attempted to get the “lost” money back in my account. My case was assigned a reference number and I was told it could take more than two weeks to resolve, which I felt was an unsatisfactory timeframe.
Each time I called the bank for an update, it took more than 20 minutes before I got through to another human to discuss the problem. While every call centre operative I spoke to was broadly sympathetic, none could resolve my situation.
They told me the app had experienced some outages, but no one could tell me that the money was definitely coming back. In the absence of reassurances, I filled the vacuum with worry. I also wasted hours on fruitless phone calls.
Thankfully, the error was corrected late yesterday and the lost money has been returned to my account. I can get on with my life now, but the experience also left me with many questions.
How can a significant sum of money be erroneously taken away in seconds but take days to be returned? Why was it a struggle to make sure that the right result was delivered? And frankly, why has the bank not apologised for its mistake? No wonder that Monopoly card about bank errors feels so otherworldly.
Banks should take note, because customers will not grin and bear this kind of situation indefinitely. The days of someone being a customer for life are receding.
In the era of sophisticated Silicon Valley inspired solutions in most areas of our lives, we have come to expect tech to work in real-time - and all the time.
If we encounter a bug-riddled website or a bad app, increasingly we'll go elsewhere next time.
That’s a problem for banks, particularly as they move closer to true digital banking, with more than one local entity launching its own products this year in this area.
They will need to make sure all parts of their operation work at the same speed, because customer expectation is a rising tide.
Newer or younger consumers won’t tolerate a hybrid model of a lightning quick digital front-end meshed with back office procrastination in the way that older generations, including me, have sometimes been schooled to put up with.
Banks also need to own up when they make errors, like they currently do in the Monopoly world. We all make mistakes. It is what we learn from them – and how we deal with them – that really counts.
The bank called me shortly before this column was published. Its representative said it was sorry for the inconvenience and that it would not happen again.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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Company Profile
Name: JustClean
Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries
Launch year: 2016
Number of employees: 130
Sector: online laundry service
Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding
The five pillars of Islam
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SOUTH%20KOREA%20SQUAD
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
The biog
Job: Fitness entrepreneur, body-builder and trainer
Favourite superhero: Batman
Favourite quote: We must become the change we want to see, by Mahatma Gandhi.
Favourite car: Lamborghini
The Beach Bum
Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg
Two stars
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
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Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Habib El Qalb
Assi Al Hallani
(Rotana)
