Why digitalisation has helped Bahraini banks escape the brunt of Covid-19

  • Date: 15-Jul-2020
  • Source: Gulf Business
  • Sector:Technology
  • Country:Bahrain
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Why digitalisation has helped Bahraini banks escape the brunt of Covid-19

The pandemic has catalysed a digital evolution that was already underway in Bahrain

A relatively advanced digital infrastructure has done well to cushion Bahraini banks from the impact of Covid-19.

Bahrain is home to the region's first hyper-scale data centre, was one of the first countries in the world to roll out nationwide commercial 5G, and is shifting its entire government to the cloud.

What the pandemic did was catalyse a digital evolution that was already underway, says Dalal Buhejji, director of Business Development, Financial Services, Bahrain Economic Development Board.

"Before Covid-19, the oldest banking sector in the GCC was already adapting to a more digital world, with initiatives such as Ila Bank, the kingdom's first fully digital bank launched last year, becoming increasingly common,“ explains Buhejji.

Other lenders also took initiatives - Al Salam-Bank Bahrain rolled out virtual branches and a digital onboarding app; National Bank of Bahrain was the first in the region to launch open banking services; BISB launched Bahrain's first fully digital bank branch; and Meem became the region's first shari'a-compliant digital banking service.

As Covid-enforced social distancing measures became commonplace, Bahrainis turned increasingly online to conduct financial services. Electronic fund transfer systems such as Fawri and Fawri+ saw unprecedented surge in