Change for the future

Sunil Paul, Co-Founder & Managing Director of Finesse suggests the coming months will be crucial for the Banking and Finance sector and that to master future challenges, the adoption of new technologies is unavoidable.

Sunil Paul- Co- Founder & Managing Director, Finesse

We have noticed several trends across the GCC banking sector. Which trends do you see shaping the future of the financial services industry for the seeable future?

Banking and Financial Services (BFSI) companies are accelerating towards innovation to prepare for a future driven by technology. Digital transformation technologies will help enterprises a c ros s a l l i n d u st r i es to m a ste r future challenges. Their success will depend on how they adapt these key technological advancements to their business processes.

Key trends that will shape the BFSI industry will include going mainstream with digital transformation, use of technologies like Blockchain, automating eligible processes through Robotic Process Automation (RPA), becoming more technologically agile using cloudbased services, investing in cybersecurity and using AI for many usecases (chatbots, fraud detection) in their businesses.

Do you see these trends picking up pace for the next year or so?

Definitely! The BFSI sector is amongst the first adopters of new technologies and in the GCC, is catching up on the trend. Case-in-point is the Covid-19 pandemic, where companies sped-up adoption of new banking technologies, thus delivering on superior customer experiences, improving cost-efficiencies and surviving the pandemic.

What is your organization doing differently to adopt to these trends?

At Finesse, we keep ourselves up to date on global technology happenings. Our experts in specific domains strive to support our clients to decide on the best use of the upcoming technologies in their businesses, to support them in their digital transformation journey, with the adaption of blockchain, automation of processes, or use of AI across various use-cases and with all the technology solutions available today.

W h a t a re t h e s i g n i f i c a n t challenges confronting the banking sector across the GCC region currently? And how do you expect these to pan out in the last quarter of the year?

The COVID-19 pandemic could be the most serious challenge to financial institutions in the GCC region in a century. Key challenges confronting the banking sector in the GCC will include focus on business continuity plans, improving cost-efficiencies by trimming costs, managing balance-sheet with stress on loans & NPAs while managing customer expectations.

Creating a smooth business process in a financial institution is a daunting task. A few of the most common problems seen during these unprecedented times are regulatory compliances, changing business models, customer retention, security breaches etc;

How do you envision the future of banking and if I were to sit down with you again six months from now do you think you will give me the same answer?

The BFSI sector is fast evolving. With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, customer expectations are changing. The next six months look crucial for the BFSI sector. Decisions made by key stakeholders will decide on how the future of banking looks.

We predict digital services becoming mainstream in most banks in the UAE and the GCC. Banks will make use of cloudbased technologies, and its associated services like increased cyber-security and resilience and use of AI for services provided to customers. By adopting these technologies, costs will reduce, while customers will see services becoming more simple, faster and economical.

Currently, organizations not utilizing cloud services must keep investing in additional hardware to scale up. One of the most significant benefits of moving to cloud is its potential to help banks reduce operational costs and effectively make use of the data for their AM & ML programs.