Keeping Pace With The World: A Digital-First Strategy

For Khalid Al-Subeai, CEO of Dukhan Bank, his industry is facing a new frontier. The world is changing, and the onus is now on banks to keep up through digital innovation and technological transformation.

Let’s talk numbers. There are over six billion smartphone users in the world today, which represents about three-quarters of the world’s population. In 2020 alone, smartphone users downloaded over 218 billion mobile apps according to Statista. Isn’t it fascinating how we have evolved as consumers and businesses? With technology at our fingertips, this world is getting smaller, but our needs are growing and diversifying like never before.

As consumers increasingly shift toward digital technologies, they look for reliable and fast solutions in all spheres of life - apps that help order food, apps that provide reliable news, and apps that facilitate financial transactions at the convenience of a few clicks.

For consumer-centric companies, the demand for digital solutions is visibly led by the consumer. As customer expectations for such capabilities rise, consumers are the ones driving the shift towards digital transformation. As organizations strive to remain abreast with these evolving needs – in the midst of a global pandemic - a digital revolution for financial institutions marks the need of the hour. In an era marked by physical distancing, accessibility is key.

A digital transformation for financial institutions entails a complete rewiring of business processes. The use of technological capabilities such as cloud technology, blockchain, artificial intelligence, Big Data, and biometrics, can restructure internal processes as well as provide faster, and more tailored solutions to customers. We are beginning to see ripples of this movement take effect across various parts of the world. For instance, the chatbot is becoming a global phenomenon, offering AIpowered client services.

Banks like JP Morgan Chase & Co., Citibank, Wells Fargo & Co. continue to funnel investment into FinTech and technological innovation. In Singapore, DBS Bank has taken it one step further, launching a virtual marketplace that offers services digitally for day-to-day customer needs such as searching for new homes, servicing cars, and booking holidays.

Essentially, the banking revolution has already begun. What we are seeing is a new frontier of banking that is powered by data encryption, fraud detection systems, virtual assistants, online applications, website optimization and more. However, the pace of this transformation differs from region to region where banks are evolving at different rates. The Qatar FinTech Report 2021 notes that less than 1% of global investments made in FinTech were in the MENA region. Barriers to implementing change include lack of technological knowhow, risking exposure to cyber-fraud, organizational resistance to change, and an attachment to the age-old traditional way of doing things.

The key to moving past these barriers lies in implementing changes on the backend. A digitalfirst strategy must be implemented that follows a top-down approach as opposed to launching a series of separate digital initiatives that run the risk of failing if they are not supported by appropriate organizational infrastructure. No company can transform all at once. Along every step of the way, fostering a digital-native culture is imperative to sustained growth and long-term success.

In Qatar, the Qatar National Vision 2030 focuses on building a knowledge-based economy. Thus, paving the way for enhanced digital capabilities through the country’s National FinTech Strategy, support from the Qatar Central Bank, and the efforts of individual players in the market.

Already we can begin to see changes in the technical landscape of the industry: robust mobile banking applications, the use of AI-chatbots, and the launch of wearable technologies capable of making payments through Dukhan Bank. In fact, Dukhan Bank was one of the first banks in the country to introduce Apple Pay and Fitbit Pay.

We are also witnessing banks diversifying into non-banking services. For instance, Dukhan Bank has partnered with Qatar-based online trading platform, The Group, to provide access to brokerage services on its app. The Group, which is licensed by the Qatar Financial Markets Authority, allows customers to view real-time market data, place buy and sell stocks, evaluate their portfolio, and analyze markets all with a few taps and with utmost convenience. Dukhan Bank is the first bank in the country to enter such a partnership. At the same time, the shift to virtual branches is not far from becoming a reality in Qatar.

In parallel, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated technological growth in the banking sector in Qatar. The launch of contactless payments, cashless POS systems, and e-payment gateway solutions are further examples of the innovative approaches taken to offer safe payment options. These technologies have brought changes to the industry that shape its outlook in the long run.

Therefore, digital systems, customer experience platforms, apps, and infrastructure must be integrated in a way that strikes the right balance between physical and digital services. Meanwhile, transformation must be based on a bank’s unique objectives and ensure that the workforce is kept up to speed with the pace of technological change.

Moreover, there is also a host of potential opportunities yet to be explored within the Islamic FinTech sector. With many Shari’ah-based banking systems, Qatar has a unique advantage to innovate and create digital solutions that answer the needs of Islamic finance. For instance, Islamic RegTech is a niche segment yet to be fully developed. As an effective tool to reach regulatory compliance, RegTech can offer potential solutions for Islamic Financial Institutions by finding the middle ground between Islamic financial regulations and Shariah compliance standards.

There is clearly a plethora of opportunities available to elevate the banking experience for customers and achieve service excellence, but an appetite for innovation is a must if we are to drive forward the digital transformation of this industry. The world around us continues to change – and so must we.

“A digital revolution for financial institutions marks the need of the hour. In an era marked by physical distancing, accessibility is key.”