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Panel discussion from Middle East Banking Innovation summit 2013

400 experts to discuss GCC banking sector’s IT spend

Dubai, July 20, 2014

More than 400 C-level executives, IT experts, retail banking specialists and finance heads are set to attend a leading banking technology summit in Dubai in September.
 
The Middle East Banking Innovation Summit 2014 will take place on September 29 and 30 at the Jumeirah Emirates Tower.
 
With heightened competition for tech-savvy customers in the market, banks with outdated systems and products are coming under pressure to invest in core banking technologies, fraud prevention solutions and data analytics software. This will be the focus of disccusion at the summit.
 
The banks taking part will share case studies, challenges and learn where to target IT spend in the comnig year.
 
The Middle East is projected to reach $243 billion by 2018, which will represent 5.6 per cent of worldwide IT spending estimated by Gartner with $211 billion this year alone. 
 
Tech giants Kaspersky, SAP, MasterCard, Nettitude, Temenos and HP will be looking to take advantage of the positive development and will be showcasing innovative solutions as banks prepare to modernise and digitise.  
 
Farhad Irani, Mashreq Bank’s head of retail banking said: “In the next three to five years, you are going to see a significant technology rollout among the banks that operation in the region with back office operations moving to the cloud. 
 
“It’s a fast-growing market, very high tech market, very amenable to innovation. Banking and payments have a very exciting opportunity in that context in being able to wow customers with solutions.”
 
The UAE has the highest usage of smartphones in the world at 75 per cent, according to a Google report – a trend that will push more business online and to mobile channels to keep up with customer expectations. 
 
As banks prepare for the onset of digitisation across the organisation, new challenges in cyber security and increased regulatory requirements are brought into the limelight. 
 
The major topics to be considered will include big data analytics, core banking optimisation, mobile and social marketing, regulatory compliance and new payment solutions. 
 
Charlene Corrin, producer of the summit, organised by Expotrade, said: “The banking sector in the Middle East is one of the world’s fastest growing markets, and with increased competition within this region it is no surprise that the summit is growing in size once again.
 
“It’s a very important platform for the banking industry decision-makers to connect with peers and technology vendors to learn how to apply innovation and focus IT spend where it is most needed.” - TradeArabia News Service



Tags: banking | Middle East | Dubai | IT | Summit | Spend |

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