Business

Crypto, digital payments among top 2022 trends for GCC financial services sector

Global management consultancy Oliver Wyman predicts that some of the top trends that are set to shape the Middle East’s financial services sector throughout 2022 include cryptocurrencies, digital payments and Banking as a Service (BaaS).

The consultancy group shared its predictions in a statement that was released on Wednesday.

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According to Mathieu Vasseux, Partner and Head of India, Middle East and Africa (IMEA) Financial Services and KSA Market Leader at Oliver Wyman, the region’s financial services sector is currently undergoing a radical transformation and is set to witness some major developments this year.

Digital Payments & Cryptocurrencies

The firm predicts an increased interest in payments across the spectrum of banking incumbents, FinTech disruptors and regional central banks due to a range of factors.

In a statement, the consultancy group said that the superior economics of these approaches are a gateway to full banking relationships to compete with technology disruptors. Saudi Arabia’s "STC Pay" and "UrPay" by Al Rajhi Bank – the world’s biggest Islamic Bank – are good examples of this competition playing out.

Payments are also a key pillar of enhanced government services and regulatory supervision.

A good example of this would be Project Aber, an initiative launched by the central banks of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to explore the viability of a cryptocurrency as an instrument of domestic and cross-border settlement between the two countries. This move could essentially transform interbank transactions and reserve management.

“We also foresee growing adoption of cryptocurrencies and a wider push on Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), along with broader blockchain applications,” the statement read.

In December 2021, Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance and Dubai World Trade Centre signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop the broader virtual asset ecosystem within the UAE.

Binance was also then awarded in-principle approval as a Crypto-Asset Provider in Bahrain.

Finance as an Ecosystem and Banking as a Service (BaaS)

The financial services industry has been undergoing a rapid transformation.

Oliver Wyman predicts that the sector will experience continued digitalization across banking, insurance and asset management.

The firm has been supporting leading banks and insurers on their journey to BaaS, which allows non-banks (e.g. brands) to embed financial services into its customer experience by selecting capabilities offered by banks in a modular way and is often delivered through an app.

Financial ecosystems are emerging with multiple partnerships, such as when payment processing platform Stripe entered the UAE market in 2021 and had 13,000 merchants expressing interest in joining their platform for payments and adjacent services.

The firm added that the sector is also witnessing consolidation via large mergers between banks and restructuring in most markets. Rapid financial service modularization, which has been disrupted by new entrant FinTech firms, like Tamara, a startup that follows the “Buy Now Pay Later” model, raising a record $110 million Series A round in Saudi Arabia. This shows that there is a need for incumbents to integrate and co-exist with other market established FinTechs.

Fiscal consolidation

The global consultancy also foresees fiscal consolidation at a national level in 2022.

For instance, Saudi Arabia has diversified revenues and optimized expenditure, enabling a potential 2.5 percent budget surplus this year.

Fiscal management and tax compliance are now being enabled by Artificial Intelligence (AI), advanced Big Data analytics and predictive algorithms, the Oliver Wyman press release stated.

The launch of e-invoicing, such as Fatura, would simplify the business process for companies and enable stronger tax compliance and real-time economic analytics at a transaction level in Saudi Arabia.

The firm expects companies in the sector to embrace the possibilities of e-invoicing for macro-economic, fiscal and social transformation.

“We also see more diversified government funding models in 2022, with sophisticated debt issuance, including Green Bonds and optimized reserve management, along with more focus put on managing and effectively deploying sovereign wealth,” the statement read.

“We also foresee an increased focus on ESG-friendly government investing and policies, both at SWF and bank lending level. In parallel, budget priorities are being refocused to enable long-term growth and resilience,” the statement added.

Oliver Wyman has a strong presence in the GCC region and across the globe, with offices in 29 countries worldwide.

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Business

Almarai signs multiple agreements to localize jobs through training and recruitment programs

Almarai signed a cooperation memorandum with the Food Industries Polytechnic, the
Transport General Authority, and the Saudi Logistics Academy to localize jobs in the
food and beverages sector through training and rehabilitation programs ending in
employment. This came within the first international conference on the labor market,
organized by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development on 13 – 14
December 2023 at the King Abdulaziz Convention Center in Riyadh.

‘These agreements are part of Almarai’s corporate program for the social responsibility
to achieve localization in the food industry sector, which is one of the top priorities of the
comprehensive strategic plans in Almarai, especially since the company is one of the
largest working environments in the kingdom, with more than 9,000 Saudi employees,
including more than 900 Saudi female employees.”Fahad Aldrees, Chief Human
Resources Officer of Almarai, said.

He added that the agreements signed to train and qualify young people are part of the
integrated initiatives and training and rehabilitation programs for national human
resources in Almarai. He pointed out that the company provided about half a million
employee training hours during 2022, raising its retention rate to 90% during 2022.

It is worth mentioning that Almarai is the world’s largest vertically integrated dairy
company, and the largest food and beverage producer and distributor in the Middle
East. Almarai was ranked among LinkedIn’s top 15 Saudi companies for professional
career development for 2022.

Business

SEBA Bank rebrands to AMINA Bank and continues to write its success story

a fully licensed Swiss crypto bank, announced today its new brand identity: AMINA Bank AG. The group operates
globally from its regulated hubs in Zug, Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong, offering its clients traditional and crypto banking services.
SEBA Bank made history in 2019 by becoming one of the first FINMA-regulated institutions to provide crypto banking services. This rebrand marks a new chapter for the company, which has proudly been in operation for more than four years. AMINA Bank is inspired by the same trailblazing ambition to lead the way for its clients and to write its own future as a Swiss-
regulated crypto bank offering services to its traditional and crypto savvy clients around the globe. The name ‘AMINA’ stems from the term ‘transAMINAtion’, meaning transference of one compound to another. AMINA is a brand driven by perpetual change, bringing together the various ‘compounds’ of traditional, digital, and crypto banking to unlock new potential and
growth for our clients. This vision of change represents the transformation of our clients’ financial future. Franz Bergmueller, CEO of AMINA, said: “We are delighted to introduce the world to our new brand identity. While we say goodbye to the SEBA name, we remain forever proud of the achievements made by the group under the former brand. “Our brand signifies a new era in the company’s growth and strategy; we are a key player in crypto banking and are here to define the future of finance. With our client-focused approach, our years of traversing traditional and crypto finance, we offer a platform for investors to build
wealth safely and under the highest regulatory standards.” “We are grateful to be encouraged by our supportive and committed investors who have been very helpful, supporting the growth of the company. We thank our employees in all the regions
for their dedication and client focus. As we look forward to 2024, our ambition is to accelerate the growth of our strategic hubs in Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Abu Dhabi, and to continue our global expansion, building on all the successes we have laid down over the past years.” Current clients of AMINA Bank (formerly SEBA Bank) will be unaffected by the rebrand other than encountering the new name; all operations will be business as usual across the board. The branch office based in Abu Dhabi and the subsidiaries in Hong Kong and Singapore will subsequently apply for a name change to align with the head office in Zug.

Business

Uptime Appoints Mustapha Louni Chief Business Officer

Uptime Institute is pleased to announce the appointment of Mustapha Louni to the position of Chief Business Officer, a role specifically created to drive strategic leadership and client success. In this new role, Mr. Louni will assume responsibility for the global Uptime sales and marketing organizations and drive overall business value for all Uptime clients. He will retain his existing responsibilities overseeing operations in the Middle East, India, Africa, and the Asia Pacific regions. In this elevated capacity, Mr. Louni is poised to play a pivotal role in driving Uptime’s next phase of global expansion through strategic initiatives to enhance market awareness of the dramatically expanding global service lines and delivery capabilities of Uptime that uniquely support the global data center industry in its pursuit of ever higher performance through elevated availability, resiliency, sustainability, and cyber-security of digital infrastructure. Louni’s appointment renews and expands Uptime

Institute 39;s 30-year commitment to advancing excellence in the data center sector on a global scale. “Today we are experiencing the next phase of the one-time, planetary transformation from analog to digital. This unprecedented, once-in-a-generation growth in data center demand is primarily driven by continuing cloud adoption, the new promise of AI, and the demonstrable fact
that hybrid digital infrastructure is here to stay for the foreseeable future,” said Martin McCarthy, CEO, Uptime Institute. “These complex and nuanced market demands require a visionary talent like Mustapha Louni. He is someone who cannot only deftly manage specific aspects of the business but also remain ahead of accelerating changes and trends. He continues to earn client
trust and respect by timely delivery on demanding commitments while he also inspires and energizes colleagues and clients alike. I am delighted to announce Mr. Louni’s new position and know that he will continue to expand the impact that he has already brought to Uptime since his arrival.” In 2014, Mr. Louni joined the Uptime organization in the United Arab Emirates, leveraging his extensive experience from roles at Panduit and Schneider Electric in Paris and Dubai. As the company’s first commercial resource in the Middle East and Africa region, Mr. Louni played a pivotal role in expanding Uptime’s presence. Within a year, he successfully established what became and remains Uptime’s fastest growing regional office. Under his leadership, Uptime has
extended his impressive trajectory of growth in MEA to the Asia-Pacific regions, augmenting the Uptime workforce with dedicated team members spanning more than a dozen countries across these regions. A new Uptime office has been inaugurated in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) this year, further fortifying the company’s ability to meet its commitment to sustained
growth and excellence and serve clients in critical, accelerating markets for digital infrastructure.

Uptime Institute began development of its proprietary and now globally recognized Tier Standards and its Tier Certifications 30 years ago to ensure that the mission critical computing needs of all organizations could be met with confidence and understood by executive management. Since that time, Uptime Tier Certification as well as other Uptime offerings including assessments and awards in digital infrastructure for ensuring business performance in areas of management and operations, risk and resilience, sustainability, and more recently cyber- security have gained global adoption. Uptime’s expanding success is based on delivering a
unique business service that is based upon unparalleled engineering excellence and technical mastery, while remaining vendor independent and technology agnostic.