UAE Banks Federation (UBF), the sole representative and unified voice of UAE banks, has reiterated its commitment to accelerating digital transformation and capitalising on modern technologies to provide easy-to-use banking services in a safe environment. This is in line with the directives of Central Bank of the UAE, which has adopted a comprehensive digital transformation strategy focusing on using the latest and pioneering technologies in data processing and storage and providing a secure and efficient infrastructure.

UAE Banks Federation confirmed that its partnership with the International Data Corporation (IDC) Conference for banking services, recently held at the Dubai International Financial Center, came as a part of its keenness to support constructive discussions and dialogues in advancing digital banking services and consolidating UAE’s leadership in this area, in light of growing adoption of digital solution.

Several senior executives, experts and specialists in information technology from the UAE and abroad participated in the IDC Conference, which discussed the benefits of advancing technologies in providing effective banking solutions and the transformations witnessed by the banking industry due to innovative technology adoption.
Participants at the conference discussed the importance of embracing the digital revolution in the financial sector, rethinking business models and operations, shifting to new data infrastructures, and ways to efficiently benefit from data analysis in providing a more personalized experience for customers and serving them better with innovative products and services. Meanwhile, the conference also underlined the importance of continuously developing cybersecurity, data protection, and privacy infrastructures as threats surge with the growing adoption of digital solutions.

Mr. Jamal Saleh, Director General of UAE Banks Federation, said: “The banking sector in the UAE has taken commendable strides in digital transformation, which is confirmed by the high penetration of digital banking solutions. Thanks to the support, guidance, and direct supervision of Central Bank of the UAE, which is keen to provide the appropriate conditions to consolidate the leadership of the banking sector. Our partnership with the IDC conference confirms our keenness to expand the digital revolution and enhance the adoption of advanced technologies in providing seamless banking services in a safe environment to further the scope of financial inclusion.”

The Director General added: “With the remarkable growth in adoption and employment of advanced technologies in every aspect of the banking and financial sector, security of services is a top priority, especially with the increase in sophisticated financial crimes. To this end, we have taken several initiatives, under the direct supervision of UAE Central Bank and in cooperation with other stakeholders and member banks, to ensure the highest levels of cyber security and compliance with the highest standards of transparency, governance and social responsibility.”

These efforts were reflected in an increase in the rate of customer confidence in banks, which reached 84% in 2022, according to the annual index of UAE Banks Federation, which places the UAE in second place in the world in terms of customer trust.
The list of keynote speakers at the IDC Conference included Cyrus Daruwala, the Managing Director for IDC Financial Insights, who discussed in his speech the importance of providing easy-to-use banking services; Adrian Hobbs, Chief Platform Officer at G42 Cloud, who presented ways to achieve profitability while adhering to regulatory controls in the field of digital transformation, and Ljupcho Joshevski, Head of Security Engineering for SaaS, XDR & Service Providers (EMEA) at Cisco, who discussed achieving security resilience in light of modern technologies.

Various sessions at the conference discussed the transition from traditional banking services and approaches to providing personal banking solutions designed to meet the requirements of all customers, innovation in the field of digital technology, digital banking services for companies and institutions, the role of artificial intelligence in reshaping banking services and operations, and digital transformation based on data.
The participants stressed the importance of setting appropriate frameworks to ensure the optimal use of technology for the development of the banking sector and the UAE’s efforts in consolidating its leadership in digital transformation and building safe financial infrastructure, supporting the use of financial technology, artificial intelligence, and data technologies and solutions to develop the infrastructure for secure cloud computing solutions for the sector.