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'Failure to adapt to changing needs....banks lose market share'

Banks ‘must balance customer service strategy’

DUBAI, April 1, 2015

Banks in the Middle East need to move from being primarily sales-centric to a balance between sales and customer-centric, according to an expert.

Alex Kwiatkowski, senior marketing strategist, Banking and Digital Channels at Misys, will deliver a session at an upcoming forum in Dubai, addressing a number of issues currently facing banks.

It includes the replacement of legacy systems and the drive to digitisation, the extended use of analytics to improve operational performance and the increased interest from regulators in banking technology.

The annual Middle East Retail Banking Forum and Expo will take place on April 6 and 7 at the Ritz-Carlton DIFC, featuring an expanded line-up of insightful conference sessions and the addition of an onsite exhibition.

“Failure to adapt to the changing needs of customers will result in a bank losing market share. New technologies, features and functionality bring enormous advantages, but their power needs to be harnessed in the right way,” said Kwiatkowski.

However, in terms of trends in consumer technology, there is an increased sophistication and penetration of smartphones, tablets and – most importantly – the apps which are running on them, said a statement.

In addition, there is the proliferation of new apps to perform banking and payment-related tasks and the nascent stage of wearables such as smart watches, which will give banks an opportunity to experiment with new technological innovation, it said.

This is presenting banks with a dilemma. The implementation of new technology alone is not enough to transform a bank’s performance. Rather it requires the interaction of people, processes and technology working in harmony. There’s no point in having a thoroughly modern IT system running old processes, customisation should be kept to a minimum, business processes should be adapted to new technology, not the other way around.

“Banks must adapt to the increasingly digitally-driven world their customers live in, but should not ignore the physical channels (branch, ATM, contact) in favour of online, mobile and social. Existing banks will succeed based on combining the best elements of traditional banking with the latest advances in technology,” added Kwiatkowski.

Around 35 international exhibitors have also confirmed participation, with 1,000 visitors representing more than 40 countries expected to visit during the two-day event.

Alex Huff, exhibition director, Fleming Gulf Exhibitions, the organisers, said: “To broaden the appeal of the event still further, this year we have introduced an exhibition, which will showcase the latest technological products and services to a highly-targeted audience. Visitors will also get to hear first-hand the latest innovations in the market through our free seminar programme on Day 1.”

Technological innovation will also be a major focus on day two of the conference with a round table discussion featuring a line-up of tech gurus, who will share expert insight on the latest developments covering everything from mobile payments, cashless transactions and contactless and prepaid payments to online product innovation. - TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Dubai | banks | Sales | strategy | Customer | forum |

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