UAE Business: 45% of UAE clients willing to switch banks altogether – Gulf Digital News

UAE Business: 45% of UAE clients willing to switch banks altogether – Gulf Digital News

UAE’s retail banking market is coming under mounting pressure, with 45% of traditional banks’ clients ready to switch to competitors within the next six months, says Arthur D. Little (ADL), a leading management consultancy firm.

 

Low rates, regulatory changes, and various new players entering the financial services landscape – including Fintech companies, retailers, and telecommunications providers – are behind this trend, according to a recent survey Arthur D. Little conducted in collaboration with M2P Solutions, a leading application programming interface (API) infrastructure company.

 

As such, banks have begun taking proactive steps to go beyond traditional banking, expanding into growth territories away from financial services, the report said. 

 

These efforts have subsequently resonated with customer bases: 61% of clients are now ready to turn to their primary bank for a beyond banking proposition, as are 70% of customers aged 25-44. 

 

Pierre Mariani, Partner, Financial Services Practice, Arthur D. Little Middle East, said: “Evolving customer demand accelerated digital transformation and entry of new players are disrupting the traditional business models of UAE banks. These trends will continue to reshape the financial sector in the years to come, and banks that fail to embrace the change and make the necessary adjustments to serve their clients beyond existing