BigDataFr recommends: Spurring digital banking in the Gulf

[…] Regional consumers purchase everything online but financial services. Bankers and regulators need to step up the pace of innovation.

Consumers in the Middle East may be avid digital buyers. Yet the two big banking markets among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states,1 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, rank well below developed Asia when it comes to purchasing digital financial services (exhibit). There is some urgency to stepping up the pace. Our research shows that over the next three to five years, competition from digital-only banks and fintech start-ups will heat up as it has in developed markets. The new competition could leave digital-laggard banks five to ten percentage points behind the winners when measured by return on equity. […]

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By George Haimari, Sheinal Jayantilal, and Kishan Shirish
Source: mckinsey.com