UAE’s bank branch network shrinks amid digital push

UAE’s bank branch network shrinks amid digital push

The number of bank branches in the UAE is expected to decline by 10 to 15 percent in the next two years after 157 branches merged or closed due to digital transformation from 2019 to the end of 2022, according to Germany’s strategy consultancy Roland Berger. “The UAE has been one of the leading countries […]The number of bank branches in the UAE is expected to decline by 10 to 15 percent in the next two years after 157 branches merged or closed due to digital transformation from 2019 to the end of 2022, according to Germany’s strategy consultancy Roland Berger.

“The UAE has been one of the leading countries in reducing the number of bank branches by relying on technology and digital transformation over the past three or four years,” the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported, quoting Saumitra Sehgal, head of financial services in the Middle East at Roland Berger.

He said there is still the possibility of reducing branches by 10 to 15 percent within two years, expecting 80 branches to close in the Gulf state in the coming years. 

Digitisation enabled the Gulf banks to reduce their branch networks by 328 branches from 4,067 at the end of 2019