“Banks which pivot towards ‘Deep Banking’ will (not only) have the highest levels of customer loyalty, but the highest levels of profitability,” according to Mohammed Wassim Khayata, CEO of Al Maryah Community Bank (Mbank), the UAE’s leading digital bank.
Speaking exclusively on Moneythor’s Deep Banking Podcast, Mr Khayata described Deep Banking as the stage at which financial transactions merge directly with customers’ daily lives.
“Technologies such as Agentic AI enable our interactions to be deeply individualised and, even empathetic. Agentic agents can respond to as well as express emotions; they are also entirely voice-activated which makes them completely intuitive both for the banks using them and the consumers interacting with them. This is what we mean by integrating with consumers’ daily lives; genuinely deep banking shouldn’t require the end user to adjust their daily routines or habits to receive the benefit,” he says.
“Today’s customer expectations are radically different to those of a generation ago. They want experiences that are not just personalised but ‘individual’ – just for them; they also expect transparency and sustainability, and – importantly – they want that experience instantly on their mobiles or whatever device they are using. We are a genuinely digital native bank; our DNA is distinct from that of a traditional bank, and meeting these expectations is what we are about.”
Martin Frick, Moneythor’s CEO, explains that built-for-purpose AI is fundamental to the delivery of deep banking experiences; namely, hyper-personalisation, anticipation, and a proposition that extends beyond traditional financial offerings.
“Banks – and Mbank, in particular – are at the intersection of people’s daily lives; whether around routine transactions or once-in-a-lifetime ones. Each provides an opportunity to connect with an additional service, or a complementary brand . . . . even beyond the finance space.”
North African expansion
The Mbank partnership reflects the momentum Moneythor has been building across the MENA region during recent months. This week, the Company announced the appointment of Mohamed Anwar as Regional Business Development Manager for North Africa, joining Moneythor’s growing MENA team. Based in Egypt, Mr Anwar joins Moneythor from digital banking experience specialists, Finshape.
Middle East momentum
Mr Frick went on to highlight the momentum Moneythor was building up across the Middle East region.
“We are facilitating Deep Banking experiences to 12 of the Middle East’s leading banks, including 2 of the top 3 in the region helping them to deepen relationships with their customers. Gamification – rewarding and incentivizing customers around money management best practices – represents an essential ingredient, in a region where 25%[1] of consumers play video games and 70%[2] would choose their bank based on the latter’s loyalty programmes. These are the type of local nuances which make Deep Banking such a compelling proposition here,” Mr Frick adds.
Mr Frick went on to call out Saudi Arabia as a key growth opportunity.
“97% mobile phone penetration and a young population – 70% aged under 35 – make Saudi Arabia a prime opportunity for Deep Banking. According to our own research, 83% of Saudi Arabians prefer to use mobile apps to access financial services, while – critically – 68% would be willing to switch banks for a better digital experience[3]. The latter should be a wake-up call for banks. It’s a matter of time before Deep Banking becomes simply ‘banking’ for a new generation of customers in the Middle East,” concludes Mr Frick.
[1] https://www.euromonitor.com/article/how-gamification-is-reshaping-loyalty-programmes-in-the-middle-east
[2] https://www.zawya.com/business/fintech/more-than-70-of-customers-pick-their-banks-based-on-loyalty-programme-expert-soy9p5h2
[3] Next Generation Financial Engagement for Saudi Banks
