Mashreq Bank is a perennial winner of this award. Can any other regional lender compete with its ambition to be not just the best digital bank in the region but one of the best in the world? So far at least answer is a resounding ‘no’.
What the Dubai-listed bank saw before anyone else in the region is that being a leader in digital banking is a marathon not a sprint. Mashreq invested early and heavily, having spotted that none of its regional rivals were overly interested in being digital pioneers.
Then, after establishing a clear lead, it continued to invest in digital, roll out new platforms and hone its service offering. When rivals set out to play catch-up, they saw Mashreq’s lead was so great, they were chasing shadows.
This requires the pioneer to continually find new ways to lead. And yet again, over the past year Mashreq Bank found new and innovative ways to do just this.