الخدمات المالية الرقمية

Financial services might have been slower than other industries in adopting disruptive digital methods and techniques, given how paranoid customers are about their security when it comes to banking and finance. However, in recent years, Fintech has seen a rise both within traditional banking ecosystems, as well as disruptive Fintech startups. 2019 will see this digital trend grow, and below are five major ways your financial services are changing and adapting to the times.

1- Artificial Intelligence

It’s almost impossible these days to not hear or read the words “artificial intelligence” across the board. From our smartphones, to our cars and even our home appliances. The financial sector is no different, with initial resistance to AI quickly dissipating as the technology evolved to meet the strict standards and regulations of financial sectors.
AI’s role in finance will be to automate a lot of the repetitive tasks currently being done by humans. Tasks such as data entry make up a significant portion of the work that keeps financial professionals busy, and AI can now do it much faster and with zero human error. Perhaps the best part of this AI integration, is that the software uses the exact same interface humans use, such as Excel, meaning human modification is still easy and human intervention when needed will not be a problem.
Some predictions expect that three quarters of tasks like data entry will be delegated to AI by the end of 2019, signaling a major disruption in what working in finance will mean.

2- Blockchain Technology

Blockchain is often considered exclusively for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, however the benefits of blockchain technology have proven quite successful within traditional financial service infrastructures.
Perhaps the most obvious benefit of incorporating blockchain is the transparency it adds to Fintech services, making the once opaque transactions deals a lot easier to trust, given multiple stakeholders have access to the same ledger, insuring money laundering and other shady business is nearly impossible and granting Fintech the one thing it still lacks in the eyes of governments and central banks: regulation.
In 2019, the adoption of blockchain by banks and governments will help increase the trust in Fintech solutions by demonstrating that they can be trusted and cannot be abused by criminal organizations to launder or hide money. After all, it’ll be extremely hard to practice fraud if countless ledgers exist and keep a log of every transaction, instead of just one centralized financial entity.

3- Mobile Payments

Mobile payments are growing every day, with estimates of about a billion USD a day being completed via smartphones worldwide. This is especially important in developing countries, where traditional banking infrastructure cannot sustain growth and provide financial services to rural communities.
The fact areas like sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America lack the financial services infrastructure in place elsewhere in the world, hasn’t stopped these markets making huge strides in smartphone penetration. This has provided a route for financial service providers to expand in these once-inaccessible markets. That, combined with the saturation in developed markets, promises huge benefits for rural communities as well as massive potential for growth for traditional banks investing in Fintech.

4- Regulation Technology

The largest hurdle for Fintech is regulation. Blockchain might be the solution in many cases, but in other situations, regulating the industry poses a major challenge.
This has made investing in regulatory mechanisms almost impossible for startups, with established banks being the only ones able to hire compliance teams that ensure all transactions are compliant with local and international regulations.
That’s where “regtech” can offer opportunities to minimize the investment of funds and time in ensuring financial service providers stay compliant. Software that automates menial tasks and draws upon large data sets to help compliance teams do their work more efficiently, quicker and with less errors. The development of regtech will open the door to new contenders in the financial services industry, allowing them to invest their funds in growing their customer base instead of sinking a huge part of it to make sure their practices are compliant.

5- Financial Inclusion

Most of the digital trends disrupting the financial sector in recent years has focused on one massive market: the unbanked. This means people without a bank account, access to credit, loans and other financial services.
According to Learning Hub, In South Asia, up to 71% of rural residents don’t have a bank account, and in Africa and the Middle East it’s more than 60% with Southeast Asia and China close behind. This provides a massive untapped market, facilitated by Fintech solutions such as blockchain technology.
In other words, even if cryptocurrencies don’t make much headway because of their volatility, the underlying technology works and is already being implemented. That, coupled with an increase in mobile banking, means that 2019 will be the year Fintech startups and traditional banks try to include more and more people, especially poor and rural communities, into the financial services industry.

The breakdown

With the rise of Financial Technology (known as FinTech globally), Facebook’s attempt to try and explore the financial services business is very understandable and expected. Facebook is edging its way to partner with some of the largest banks, to work together, and potentially offer multiple options that would facilitate various sorts of customer transactions.
On one hand, the prospect of making all types of financial services more easily accessible to everyone is really welcomed, but on the other hand, data privacy would be considered the largest threat for Facebook to make that happen, especially after its recent Cambridge Analytica scandal during 2018.

Facebook taps into customer service

Following the recent global surge in ‘customer chats,’ which can be found on many different types of websites, whether for business related cross-border payments, or personal online applications such as e-visas, Facebook now wants to offer its own services, especially since Messenger now counts around 1.3 billion monthly active users.

Facebook already offers such services on Messenger with the likes of American Express, MasterCard, MoneyGram, and PayPal, but is now willing to partner with more traditional banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo to name a few. The goal is of course to facilitate and make financial services very user-friendly to the general public.

This is very much in line with the global shifting from ‘retail’ to ‘online,’ since the recent trends of customer behavior suggest that it is more likely that the average customer would pick online services over retail, and therefore choose to opt out of having to physically go to the bank in this case to make any kind of transaction.

Payments in Messenger are already in the works

As of now, Facebook Messenger allows you to make peer-to-peer payments by sending and receiving payments. Users can add their credit or debit card info on Messenger and begin transactions right away. This is extremely helpful as money is transferred right away as soon as you click send, as most banks need 2-5 working days to initiate and send your requests.

This is only the beginning as Facebook now attempts to reach the wider world of banks and retail, mirroring other tech giants like Amazon and Google. At the end of the day, Facebook connects the whole world together, so attempting to connect banks with consumers could lead it to its road in FinTech.

It all comes down to data and privacy

On the flipside, data privacy will prove to be Facebook’s toughest challenge. This is because all banks permanently try their best to protect customer data and retain them.

In addition, the fact that Facebook encountered serious issues in user privacy and data security during 2018, could lead some banks and credit unions to consider large tech companies a threat to their companies and services.

In spite of all that, Facebook still has a lot of room and potential to cooperate with traditional banks and help them regain a competitive advantage in the process. Simultaneously, this will set to boost Messenger quite significantly as it will be the fundamental layer to enhance and improve a seamless banking and digital financing customer experience. Much like any business moving into FinTech, Facebook will attempt to follow those footsteps too.

The Cloud has been taking over major parts of many industries across the globe. Whether an institution creates products, provides services or analyzes data, cloud-based services are quickly replacing older, more expensive dedicated hardware and software with a limited shelf life that take considerable manpower to properly maintain. The financial industry might have taken longer than others to embrace the cloud, but experts say that by 2020, the “no-cloud” policy will become like the “no-internet” policy today.

The benefits of adopting cloud-based services are wide-ranging, and affect both core operations of financial institutions, as well as customer relations and human resources management. Here are the main ways the cloud is helping banks and other institutions deliver better services, more cost-effectively.

Cost Cutting

Running a bank has been an extremely complex and expensive endeavor. New servers and data centers need to be constructed and employees need to be recruited and trained to be able to properly operate and maintain these local networks. This has made new competitors joining the banking sector difficult, and thus helped cement the monopoly older players have in that market.

Cloud-based services in the banking sector allow both established and new banks to abandon the need to build their own networks and data centers, and instead pay to use a secure, always up to date and future-proof cloud-based infrastructure.

In one instance, Melbourne-based ME Bank saved a whopping 75% on its development and testing environments when it ditched its on-premises data center and used a more efficient, cost-effective, cloud-based infrastructure.

Improved Scalability and Efficiency

Customer-centric financial institutions are quickly becoming the most sought-after by tech-savvy customers. This means that in many instances, banks need to scale up quickly to meet the demands of their customers, who increasingly expect more from their banks. Traditional hardware-centered networks take a lot of time and expenses to set up and cannot compete with the speed at which a cloud-based infrastructure can increase capacity and scale up.

Efficiency is also a key advantage when using cloud-based services. This is especially true for banks that operate in different markets and countries. Banks that operate across markets and demographics, need to analyze massive data sets to optimize their portfolio of services to stay up to date with what customers expect from their bank in this hyper-connected day and age.

Meet Customer Demands Fast

New products usually take at least 18 months to properly develop, test and roll out. Several banking initiatives like Open Banking and PSD2 have demonstrated that banks can create, develop and launch new products and services in just 3 months, a fraction of the time it takes with current more traditional infrastructure.

This speed is invaluable to both established banks and those currently on the rise. The ability to adapt quickly to customers’ needs, as well as integrate the latest research and technology into a bank’s bouquet of services, is what puts banks ahead in today’s cut-throat market where consumers expect not service to not be just over and above, but almost instantaneous as well.

Stronger Relationship with Customers

52% of SMEs in the UK feel banks aren’t business friendly, and 44% of millennials in the US claim their banks “do not understand them.” In light of these attitudes, it has become more important than ever for banks to not only understand their customers but adapt to their feedback in real-time.

The cloud helps gather and analyze customer feedback faster and more comprehensive than ever before, allowing the bank to better identify its weak points and how best to address and strengthen them. A good example was how Tangerine Bank used Microsoft’s Analytics Platform System (APS) and Azure HDInsight to send out incentives to retain their customers, and helped them expand their market share as well.

The cloud is coming to the financial sector, and 2018 has seen that trend grow exponentially. In the age of crypto and online payments, banks need to stay one step ahead without breaking the bank (pun intended). The cloud offers a perfect way to provide better services, while scaling up and keeping your existing customers happy.

ارتبط مسار المجتمع البشري بتطوُّر معارف الإنسان. إذ يحسب تطور أيّ مجتمع وفقاً لمستوى المعرفة بمعناها الشمولي، وهي بطبيعة الحال مرتبطة بجوانب الحياة المادية والاجتماعية والبيولوجية.

وهكذا، فإن أهمية المعرفة ليس بالأمر الجديد، بل ما هو جديد حجم تأثيرها على كافة أوجه الحياة في ظل الثورة التكنولوجية التي غيّرت وجه البشرية. فكان بروز اقتصاد المعرفة الذي شهد تطورات بوتيرة متسارعة وعلى نطاقٍ واسع، قابله إنطلاق السباق بين دول العالم لتعزيز الاقتصاد المحلي ليصبح تنافسياً عالمياً مبنياً على المعرفة والابتكار.

أدركت دولة الامارات العربية المتحدة، أهمية تحويل اقتصادها الريعي إلى اقتصاد قائم على المعرفة، بهدف تعزيز موقعها كمركز إقليمي وعالمي في مجال الأعمال والمال. واستشمرت إمارة دبي كل طاقتها من خلال “خطة دبي 2021” إلى جانب “استراتيجية دبي الصناعية 2030″ ومعرض إكسبو دبي 2020” و “الحكومة الذكية”، ما أدى إلى فتح الباب على مصراعيه أمام القطاعات غير النفطية، فتراجع إسهام قطاع النفط إلى نسبة لا تتجاوز 1% في الإقتصاد.

قطار التكنولوجيا الذي انطلق في الإمارات ولا سيما في العاصمة أبو ظبي وفي إمارة دبي، يسير بخطواتٍ ثابتة وسريعة، وأتت نتائج الجهود التي بذلتها الدولة والقطاع الخاص كبيرة وواعدة جداً. إذ احتلت الإمارات المرتبة الثانية على مستوى العالم في مجال تحسّن الخدمات الإلكترونية. ووفقاً للجدول الزمني لتنفيذ ” برنامج محمد بن راشد للتعلم الذكي” ستكون جميع مدارس الإمارات ذكية بحلول العام المقبل 2019، ناهيك عن الإنجازات والتحولات التكنولوجية في قطاعات النقل والمصارف والسياحة والتجارة والطب وكافة القطاعات الأخرى من دون استثناء.

فدولة الإمارت ركزت على الاستثمار في تطوير البنية التحتية منذ عقود، لتحتل اليوم الترتيب الأول عالمياً ضمن محاور “جهوزية قطاع التكنولوجيا” حسب تقرير التنافسية العالمي الأخير الصادر عن المنتدى الاقتصادي العالمي “دافوس” في سويسرا.

وبلغت نسبة استخدام الانترنت في الإمارات 99% من إجمالي عدد السكان. وباتت التكنولوجيا المكوّن الرئيس في استراتيجية التنوع الاقتصادي في دولة الإمارات وهذا الأمر شكل جاذباً لكبرى الشركات العالمية لاتخاذ دبي مركزاً إقليمياً لأعمالها في المنطقة العربية وشمال افريقيا.

يؤكد الخبراء أن مسيرة التحول الرقمية باتت وسيلة لخفض التكاليف على مستوى ميزانية الدول على المدى الطويل، وتلعب دوراً محورياً في تحفيز إنتاجية الموظفين ودفعهم نحو الابتكار والإبداع. تجربة الإمارات مثالٌ نجاح يجب أن يشكل حافزاً للدول، لا سيما العربية لاستخدام قطار التكنولوجيا والمعرفة كوسيلة لتحقيق التنمية على كافة الصعد.

سنوات قليلة قد لا تتعدى أصابع اليد الواحدة، وسنشهد على تحولات جذرية في إطار الثورة الرقمية ستطال كافة مرافق الحياة لا سيما الاقتصادية والمالية وعلى رأسها التعاملات المالية. هذه ليست بفرضية بل هي نتيجة لواقع الحال واتجاهات الأسواق. إذ بدأنا نشهد على غياب التعاملات النقدية فعلياً لتحل محلها التعاملات المصرفية عبر الهواتف النقالة. وبدأت المصارف بتبني الذكاء الاصطناعي في خدماتها المصرفية وعمليات الدفع أصبحت بنقرة واحدة من مستهلك إلى مستهلك. إلى جانب الفرص الجديدة للعملات الرقمية المشفرة والبطاقات البيومترية التي لا تحتاج كلمة مرور وغيرها من الخدمات.

هذه الخدمات الرقمية أخذت الصناعة المصرفية إلى عصرٍ جديد كلياً فيما يتعلق بخدمة العملاء، فالبيانات الذكية التي يوفرها الذكاء الاصطناعي مكّنت البنوك من توفير خدمات وخبرات مصممة خصيصاً لاحتياجات كل عميل. ولا يزال الأفق رحباً أمام المصارف للاستفادة من التطورات في عالم التكنولوجيا لا سيما عالم إنترنت الأشياء.

واحدة من الخدمات والتطبيقات المرتقبة لإنترنت الأشياء يمكن أن تشمل القدرة على إجراء العمليات المصرفية باستخدام أجهزة قابلة للارتداء وأجهزة تُنشّط بالصوت (مثل أمازون إيكو)، ودمج المدفوعات غير المرئية في وسائل النقل وتناول الطعام، والاستفادة من الأجهزة المنزلية الذكية كأدوات للمصارف.

تساءلت مجلة غلوبال فاينانس العالمية عن شكل بنوك المستقبل! وأجرت المجلة مقارنة بين الأمس واليوم معتبرةً أنه لن يكون هناك حاجة للطوابق السفلية في بنوك المستقبل حيث تخزن الأموال النقدية، وعلى الأغلب ستنحسر ظاهرة مراجعة الفروع والمقرات لتتحول المعاملات إلى الشكل الإلكتروني عبر الإنترنت أو الجوال. هذا الجيل الجديد من البنوك من شأنه أن يجعل المعاملات المالية أكثر سهولة وسرعة وشفافية. وسيشهد تحول الخدمات المصرفية عبر الجوال نحو الخدمات المصرفية الرقمية تسارعاً قياسياً خلال هذا العام، وذلك بفضل التقدم في التكنولوجيا التي لا تقتصر مهمتها فقط على تمكين المصارف من تقديم البيانات للمستهلكين، لا بل على تزويدهم بمعلومات قابلة للتنفيذ أيضاً. وسيصبح بإمكان المستهلكين اتخاذ قرارات سديدة في الوقت المناسب بشأن أموالهم وكيفية حماية أصولهم المالية. ويسمح الذكاء المضاف إلى نظام الدفع بأن تصبح المدفوعات فورية وغير مرئية وآمنة وسهلة.

لكن هذا الواقع قد ينتج عاملاً تنافسياً جديداً يتمثل في دخول شركات التكنولوجيا لقطاع الخدمات المصرفية. ففي الولايات المتحدة، يتوقع الكثيرون أن ينبثق بنك المستقبل في واحدة أو أكثر من شركات التكنولوجيا العملاقة مثل جوجل أو آبل أو فيسبوك أو أمازون.

Most industries have seen a major shift in how business is done thanks to advances in technology, and the financial sector is no different. Financial Technology (fintech) is set to grow exponentially in the Arab World, given users expect better services with more convenience and less fees. Umniah’s Mahfazti mobile wallet is set to help many Jordanians benefit from banking services with speed, ease and security using nothing but their own personal mobile phone.

75% of Jordanians do not have a bank account, while more than 83% of Jordanians owned a connected mobile phone in 2017. Expensive fees, absence of bank branches in suburban and rural parts of the country as well as modest use of technology to make financial services more user friendly and accessible, means millions of Jordanians remain “unbanked”. This means transferring money, paying bills and withdrawing cash remains out of reach for many users. Umniah’s Mahfazti app is a simple yet comprehensive solution to this financial challenge in the Kingdom.

Jordan’s mobile penetration is among the highest in the Arab World and 4G mobile Internet has helped push this penetration even higher. This provides an incentive for banks and other financial services providers to partner up with telcos and reach users that have so far remained elusive for the financial sector. Fintech allows more and more users to take charge of their finances and benefit from services that are otherwise impossible by only using cash.
Mahfazti is the first in many fintech innovations set to change how money exchanges hands in Jordan and the Arab World. Fintech makes the financial sector more readily accessible than ever before, more open, safer and convenient for a wider array of customers that have never had a bank account but are quickly adopting mobile wallets with telcos such as Uminah’s Mahfazti.