IslamicFinance.de

Working closely with Accenture, Al Rajhi Bank has successfully implemented a fully dedicated payment service hub solution. The new hub adds a new payment alternative for all of the bank's payment products and services. In addition to delivering a silo-breaker architecture, the Payment Services Hub (PSH) is designed to reduce time to market for new products, while simultaneously reducing risks. Al Rajhi Bank's CEO, Waleed Al Mogbel, said the new Hub would enable the bank to deliver a leading customer service and increase operational efficiencies. The PSH opens up opportunities for the bank to develop new revenues streams for corporate and retail banking, particular around open banking and real-time payments.

The Middle East has been a late adopter of financial technology, or fintech. According to Accenture, of more than $50bn in fintech investment globally since 2010, only 1% has gone to the Middle East and North Africa. Now several cities are racing to establish themselves as fintech hubs. Last year Cairo launched two accelerators and Abu Dhabi has created the region’s first regulatory sandbox, allowing new products to be tested for two years without full regulatory compliance. In March Abu Dhabi signed an agreement with the Monetary Authority of Singapore to undertake joint fintech projects and Dubai’s new fintech accelerator has already begun accepting applications. Bahrain, too, has teamed up with Singapore to develop a fintech ecosystem. Fintech can serve the masses of migrant workers in need of remittance services and it can also bring cheaper services to the unbanked. According to the World Bank, over four-fifths of the population in the region are unbanked, which means a higher proportion than anywhere else in the world.