UAE banking’s smart digitisation PROJECT PARTNERS
Powering ‘SMART’ DIGITISATION in the banking sector
3
Embarking on a root-and-branch transformation to use technology more smartly, United Arab Bank is focused on what matters – its customers
D
igital transformation and digitisation are just some of the buzzwords which have saturated the banking space in recent years. For United Arab Bank (UAB), the company’s digital strategy isn’t about following trends or excessive expenditure on new technology, it’s about taking pragmatic, informed steps to ensure that the focus is on what matters the most – the customer. With this focus in mind, UAB is using up-to-date technology to realise true potential of digital transformation so that the customer receives the world-class service they expect. UAB’s Chief Operating Officer Izzidin Abusalameh says, “I do believe that behind each service or transaction we do for our customers, there is either a human story or a commercial interest and, in both cases, we cannot miss out on these.
4
Therefore, customer service is, and will remain, one of our top priorities.” “Digital transformation is a prime focus for any bank or financial institution, but UAB is keen to achieve this objective through ‘smart digitisation’ by adopting latest technologies and utilising the power of data.” For Abusalameh, UAB’s digital transformation strategy is straightforward – apply the latest technologies in simple, smart and proactive ways while keeping the bank’s customer in mind. “By applying technology in an appropriate way, we aspire to be proactive,” he explains. “This allows us to reach out to our customers who may need help before they even raise their hand to ask for assistance. This proactive approach is the cornerstone of our philosophy on which our digital transformation is based.”
“I do believe that behind each service or transaction we do for our customers, there is either a human story or a commercial aspect and, in both cases, we cannot miss out on these� IZZIDIN ABUSALAMEH Chief Operating Officer
w w w. u a b . a e
5
DRIVE REAL BUSINESS RESULTS WITH OUR LATEST IT TECHNOLOGIES
S
THE REGION’S NUMBER ONE PROVIDER OF IT SOLUTIONS COGNITIVE SOLUTIONS
I OT
HYBRID CLOUD
SECURITY ANALYTICS
www.gbmme.com
UAB has a strong reputation in the UAE’s banking industry since it was established in Sharjah about 43 years back. While in 2017, the bank made an annual net profit of AED 17 million, it has clocked an impressive AED 36 million profit in Q1 2018 demonstrating the strength of its ‘core’ business. Smart digitisation To deliver ‘smart digitisation’, Abusalameh says that the bank is working on a plan to consolidate the number of systems it has. In doing so, it is also creating a robust IT structure, using powerful state-of-the-art tools from the tech industry to ensure operational efficiency, productivity
8
36
MN
The United Arab Bank’s profit in Q1 (AED)
and sustainable growth. “It entails careful selection of technologies and only working with the industry leaders in that specific market,” Abusalameh says. “We use industry leading market research rankings and look into certain areas of technology to see who the market leaders are. We deep dive into their functional capabilities and evaluate their technical components according to the bank’s current and future requirements in order to arrive
at an optimal technology stack in sync with the bank’s overall IT architecture. “Working alongside tier one technology providers to implement their “specialised” version with minimum customisations in line with industry best practices has become a guiding principle,” he elaborated. By undertaking a deep level of planning and understanding, the UAEbased firm is getting the maximum potential from its technologies.
w w w. u a b . a e
9
TAKE YOUR BUSINESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Human Capital Management Benefit from our extensive expertise and our proven extensions in the establishment of global human resources best practice solutions and process consulting in the SAP SuccessFactors® environment.
Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) As IBM Business Partner with OpenPages® GRC accreditation and one of the leading providers of GRC services we help you reliably achieve your business objectives, address uncertainty and act with integrity.
Pentos has offices in Dubai, Germany, Switzerland and the USA.
www.pentos.ae Email: info@pentos.com
Unlocking the potential of technologies Abusalameh says that this pragmatic approach is helping the bank connect its different technological tools so that it can create one streamlined digital strategy. “UAB is also investing in new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Human Capital Management (HCM) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems from SAP to eliminate non-value added tasks so that staff can focus on their core activities while enhancing productivity. “When you acquire a new global HR system you will also acquire new best practices which,
1975
YR
The year that the United Arab Bank’s was founded
w w w. u a b . a e
11
12
of course, increases efficiency,” he says. “This is also applicable to our other systems such as ERP.” The power of data Today, data is often described as the ‘new oil’ – valuable to have, even more so if it’s refined and used efficiently. UAB recognises the importance of data and is fully committed to utilise data & analytics to drive business growth. “Today, data science is what everyone’s talking about by far,” Abusalameh adds. “Data hasn’t become valuable overnight, it’s always been important but what has significantly changed is the computing power, data storage capability & the means of organising it. “That’s why I always encourage the bank’s head of digital and head of data to work closely together more than ever before. With changing times, our impetus is more towards using statistics and data science to help the bank leverage the power of predictive analytics in real time.” In this way, data ensures that continuous improvement is at the
w w w. u a b . a e
13
5
Steps to True Stewardship of the Balance Sheet
The bank treasury takes on different roles in different organisations. The core activities of managing and assuring solvency generally extend into ensuring that the risk appetite is protected when the business lines create investment products into the market. The broadened role of the Treasurer, the CFO and the CRO must focus on control, clarity and consistency. Are you ready to rise and reduce manual effort, costs and risk?
FIND OUT MORE AT GETINFO@FISGLOBAL.COM
www.fisglobal.com getinfo@fisglobal.com
1
Assure liquidity: Ensuring the bank always meets its obligations.
2
Assure Solvency: Protecting the nest egg through robust reporting, planning and decision making.
3
Protect revenue: Reducing noise in financial results.
4
Manage customer flows: Improving visibility and control beyond the treasury
5
Leverage treasury technology in the cloud: Letting technology and expertise simplify operations.
BOUTIQUE TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS Our NextGen custom applications assist bankers to automate and streamline their business processes to deliver impeccable customer experience.
Chatbot
Data Cleansing
Master Data Management
AI & Machine Learning
Business Intelligence
Data Quality Management
www.promenna.com
sales@promenna.com
cornerstone of UAB’s strategy. The company’s commitment towards being a data driven bank can also be evidenced by the confidence placed in it by Informatica (a leading data management platform) through an award for innovative usage of its data management platform and products last year. In-depth understanding Yet, with ever-more data, this is not only driving efficiency and operational excellence internally, it is also transforming the customer’s experience. “In every bank today, data helps companies gain a 360-degree view of their customers but if you gain even more data, you will be able to predict their behaviour, improve your service, and provide a 3D view of your customers whereby you understand them a bit deeper,” Abusalameh explains. “This can make much a difference if you can then reach out to a customer. The company’s digital transformation has been a huge task but it hasn’t
“We want to be recognised as a bank to stand by, a bank which puts the customer first” IZZIDIN ABUSALAMEH Chief Operating Officer
gone unnoticed by the international tech community, apparent as the bank collected the Genesys Award for Best Use of Technology in the Banking sector last year. A mindset shift Referring to the biggest challenge for the bank, Abusalameh said that the mindset shift that took place to bring digital transformation was a daunting task, but it was successfully implemented by the management. “For any transformation journey, changing the mindset of the company is usually one of the top challenges,” he says. “It basically requires openmindedness and commitment from everyone in the team starting
w w w. u a b . a e
15
Kollect PowerApps Kollect PowerApps is a suite of applications which automates and streamlines the entire Revenue Collection and Debt Recovery process. Kollect PowerApps helps esteemed customers such as United Arab Bank to reduce bad debt, improve cash flow and lower days receivable outstanding.
Kollect Systems Sdn Bhd is a leading technology provider of Revenue & Arrears Collections, Debt Recovery and Agency Management Software Solutions. We are proud to be recognized as a Strategic Technology Partner of United Arab Bank.
Collection personnel have access to up-to-theminute information on each Customer in terms of d e l i n q u e n c i e s, p a y m e n t s , d i s p u t e s a n d p r o m i s e s t o pay, so they can quickly resolve Collection issues with Customers.
Contact us today to discover how we can do the same for you. info@kollect.my +603 8605 3378 www.kollect.my
16
from the top management.” In addition, Abusalameh considers rigid technology software another challenge to implement smart digitisation process. “Many of the world’s major technology suppliers need to do more to make their products more flexible and easy to implement & upgrade,” he notes. “The more flexible your platform is, the quicker you can adapt it and take it to market.”
United Arab Bank will always remain known for – its continuous commitment to its customers. “We’re aspiring to give the best customer service in the UAE,” Abusalameh concludes. “We want to be recognised as a bank to stand by, a bank which puts the customer first.”
w w w. u a b . a e
17
United Arab Bank P.J.S.C. Tower, opposite Noor Mosque, Al Buhaira Corniche Area 25022. UAE Sharjah 25022 T: +971 6 507 5222 | W: www.uab.ae