GCC financial technology (fintech) start-ups are cashing in on the always-connected banking habits of millennials, industry experts said in the build-up to the Gitex Technology Week, the largest ICT expo in the region.

There is a surge in growth of “moneyhawks” - the high-income, and under-35-year-old customers who want constant mobile access to their banking and finance accounts.

Banks often struggle to profit from their customers. The bottom 28 percent of customers give a 22 percent profit loss, due to cashing checks at branches or not paying back loans. Moneyhawks are only 16 percent of banks’ customers, but generate the majority of profit, especially from digital payments, according to the Database Marketing Institute.

Millennials in the UAE are a key target for banks. About 60 percent of the population is under 25 years old, and the GDP per capita is over $ 48,000, the second-highest in the Middle East and North Africa, according to a recent report by the Kuwait Financial Center, Markaz.

“UAE Millennials do not want to wait at bank branches – they want constant, secure, and easy access to their banking and financial from their mobile devices. As a result, more banks are establishing partnerships with FinTech start-ups, which can drive digital payment innovation with a more agile mindset,” said Abdirizak Ibrahim Salah, co-founder of Trriple, a UAE-based digital payments start-up.

Global investors are pouring money into FinTech firms. Investment grew by 75 percent from $13 billion in 2014 to $22 billion by 2015, according to a recent Accenture report.

At last year’s Gitex, Trriple launched as a company and signed a partnership with Ericsson on mobile wallet solutions in banking and Smart Cities. Trriple returns this year to showcase digital payment innovations, and exhibit alongside FinTech start-ups at the Gitex Startup Movement.

“Cash represents 75 percent of the UAE’s total payments – leading to a fragmented payment space for consumers, businesses, and banks. Innovative FinTech start-ups can use mobile apps to transform the UAE consumer payments space, leading to a cashless society by 2018,” added Salah.

Gitex Technology Week 2016 runs from October 16 to 20 at Dubai World Trade Centre. – TradeArabia News Service