The ascent of digital banks in the Gulf region: Prospects and challenges

This paper provides a practitioner’s and academic’s perspective on the impending challenges faced by the Gulf banks from the growth of FinTech and technology disruptors in the region. The authors provide a comprehensive view of the approaches taken by the banking industry in the Gulf to face these new challenges, including the support provided by their governments. The paper describes three dominant approaches taken by the banks in the region on the digital banking front. As practitioners and academics, the authors provide their recommendation through their four-corner strategy of action points that the Gulf banks should adopt in order to successfully overcome ongoing challenges posed by FinTech’s and technology disruptors and to stay relevant during this period of changing consumer behavioural patterns led by technology disruption and growth.