Competition in digital banking is not as fierce as in the Middle East as elsewhere. Rarely do banks’ achievements match their rhetoric in this area.
One bank that does impress with the changes it has introduced over the last year is Emirates NBD. Last year’s best overall bank in the Middle East, as well as best digital bank, it reclaims the award thanks to sustained and consistent investment in the area of digitization since it began its programme in 2012.
Emirates NBD has introduced new tools to give its customers greater control over the way they bank – allowing them, for example, to instantly block and unblock their debit and credit cards themselves if they wish to do so. Another new security measure links customers’ credit card location when they make a purchase to the location of their mobile phone, allowing the bank to more accurately assess if payments should be approved.
Emirates NBD was also the first bank in the Middle East and Africa to launch a contactless payment method, which allows customers to make purchases via their mobile banking application.