FinTech and digital transformation headline at the 10th Annual Middle East Banking Summit

By Leandra Monteiro

The 10th Annual Middle East Banking Innovation Summit explored the world of banking technology and digital transformation. The two-day event opened with a fireside chat between Naveed Minhas, Digital Platforms Executive, and Philip King, Global Head of Retail Banking at ADIB as they discussed how banks can improve their balance sheet through driving customer acquisition.

Next up, Sudhakar Nibhanupudi from the National Bank of Kuwait joined the summit virtually to speak on data management and effective analytics for innovation. This was followed by Sidhant Sachdev, from Tanla who gave an overview of blockchain and how to ensure customer experiences are formed on trust.

Another discussion featuring Sid Bhatia from Dataiku, Ahmed Alrefaei from Arab Bank for Investment & Foreign Trade, Sri Lakshmi from First Abu Dhabi Bank and Alok Gupta from HSBC. Shared the latest updates and industry insights about data monetization and why it’s more than just a revenue stream.

The summit was also witness to Ahmed Khidhir from Temenos sharing predictions for the next 5 years in digital banking. This was followed by Sumanta Roy from Tata Consultancy, Dr Bhaskar Dasgupta from Abu Dhabi Global Market, Stefan Kimmel from Commercial Bank of Dubai and Vikas Sethi from Gulf International Bank came together to discuss open banking and the business models to facilitate it.

The second day of the summit was heavily focused on digital transformation in the banking sector. With several industry experts sharing their thought and experience on the latest financial technology trends. The summit also had a session on artificial intelligence and its role in finance delivered by Prashant Menon of First Abu Dhabi Bank. Gabriela Ghencea of Route Mobile went on to speak about intelligent banking and conversational AI. With digital taking over a large part of the banking networks, Syed Riyazuddin from Emirates NBD discussed the role of people at the heart of digital transformation.