“Having a whole bank in a mobile app is not a dream anymore and I am eager to implement it very soon.” — Khaled Barakat, Head of Retail and Digital Banking at Bank ABC
Egypt’s Central Bank, banking sector, and startup ecosystem are moving rapidly towards making digital banking a country-wide norm. The reasons behind this move are plenty; to digitize banking services is to make them substantially more convenient and accessible. This won’t only save us many unnecessary trips to and waiting hours at the bank, but it will also expand financial inclusion (individuals having access to financial services and products to meet their needs).
And without financial inclusion, rising to a higher social or economic position, growing your business (especially if it’s a small or medium enterprise), building up reliable savings, and getting insurance becomes quite difficult — if not impossible. Based on figures released by the World Bank in 2014, Egypt has one of the lowest levels of financial inclusion worldwide. Only about 12% of Egyptians and 14% of adults in the country have a bank account.
We approached Khaled Barakat, Head of consumer and digital banking, and an expert on the subject, to get an insider’s look into the growing phenomenon.
Meet the Expert
Khaled Barakat, Head of Consumer and Digital Banking at Bank ABC
Barakat worked in the banking sector for over two decades. His area of expertise covers consumer banking management, retail assets, cards, liabilities, trade finance, distribution, digital banking, marketing and risk management.
“I always say that the objective of digital banking is to offer an easy and simple journey to our clients. It will gradually change customer perception and behavior towards banks and the overall banking experience,” told us Barakat, who now spearheads the digital transformation of banking services and products at Bank ABC.
In Barakat’s view, banks will either go digital or perish. “Having a whole bank in a mobile app is not a dream anymore and I am eager to implement it very soon,” he elaborated.
Digital Banking and Financial Inclusion
As we’ve previously established, harnessing the power of digital transformation in the banking sector will significantly contribute to making banking services and products more accessible to more segments of Egypt’s population. This will, in turn, expand financial inclusion and thus improve the economic well-being of individuals and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
“The Central Bank of Egypt’s response to this low level of financial inclusion was to focus on improving it through digitizing cash transactions and promoting M-Wallets (mobile wallets) along with issuing specific regulations to speed up banking inclusion and digital transformation,” said Barakat.
According to Barakat, banks should view these regulations as a gateway to digital transformation. Making digital banking channels a convenient reality and building 24/7 digital marketing communications through social media platforms is the way forward in achieving financial inclusion in his view.
Digital Banking Trends That Are Here To Stay
We also asked Barakat about what digital banking trends he believes we should watch out for. He first talked about the necessary emergence of mobile-based solutions. “Nowadays, the majority of your time is spent on your mobile phone, so, many banks are now shifting towards mobile-based solutions.”
Aside from utilizing your bank’s services and products through your mobile phone, Barakat also thinks that digital on-boarding, which means signing up for a bank account online and without having to physically go there, will also catch on!
“Interest-bearing current accounts, instant payments and transfers, virtual cards, and multi-currency accounts that you can link to your debit cards are also some examples,” he added.
Barakat’s Advice for Concerned Consumers and Banking Professionals
Finally, we wanted Barakat to tell us what advice he would give consumers concerned about trusting their money with the online world and banking professionals seeking to transform digitally as well.
As for consumers, Barakat’s advice was pretty simple: “Do not share your credentials with anybody and do not store sensitive personal information on your mobile device. Also, always make sure your anti-virus software is always updated.”
Banking professionals looking to ride the digital revolution, on the other hand, should continually stay updated on the latest digital banking technologies locally and globally. They should also monitor their customers’ behavior in situations that require a financial decision and “implement digital banking channels that link between customers and their needs”.
