MANAMA: Bank ABC is set to welcome the region’s leading financial thought leaders, regulators and world-renowned commentators to the MEA Fintech Forum 2020.
Recognised as the ‘Davos of Fintech’, the forum will be streamed live for a global audience of more than 2,000 delegates tomorrow and on Wednesday, via a state-of-the-art virtual event platform.
One of the key highlights of this year’s forum is the regulators’ panel discussion, it will bring together Central Bank of Bahrain Governor Rasheed Al Maraj, Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority Governor Dr Ahmed Alkholifey and Financial Stability Board secretary general Dietrich Domanski.
It will be moderated by Financial Times US editorial board chairman and America editor-at-large Dr Gillian Tett to discuss how regulations can keep pace with the speed of innovation and adapt to maintain the trust and confidence of consumers.
They will also share their views on the benefits and pitfalls of digital currencies, virtual licences which are trending in the Fareast among other pertinent topics impacting financial services today.
Themed ‘Banking Beyond Digital’, the two-day forum will highlight some of the challenges and opportunities in the region’s financial services sector; most notably, next generation digital payments and the future of digital currencies, regulation in digital age, the top threat listed by CEOs; cyber-security. With contactless quickly becoming the safest way to pay, customers now value the simplicity, seamlessness and security offered by digital payments.
The recent spike in this trend has further been enhanced as a result of the safety measures being adopted globally in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
As the map of the digital payments landscape is redrawn, the sector will need to co-operate more closely on digital payments if it is to provide an enhanced banking experience that puts customers’ needs first.
Bank ABC Deputy Group chief executive Sael Al Waary said: “The regulators will play a pivotal role in enabling innovation and development of the no-touch economy. We are really excited to host the Regulator’s Panel this year and look forward to hearing directly from them how they envisage the digital ecosystem of tomorrow.
“Now in its fourth year, and as the world adapts to a new normal, we’re excited to bring together an even broader and more diverse representation of leading experts from the financial services and fintech sectors in what has consistently been called out as one of the most compelling and inspiring events of its kind. With a significant number of incumbent financial institutions realising now more than ever that digitisation is no longer about progress but about survival, it has never been more important for public and private sectors to come together to share knowledge and best practices. As we continue to facilitate the fintech conversation, we hope to spur further collaboration and innovation across the ecosystem for the greater good of society,” added Mr Al Waary.
A separate CEOs panel moderated by Anthony Thomson on Day-2 of the forum will see ila Bank Bahrain chief executive Mohamed Al Maraj, Bank 86 400 chief executive Robert Bell, and Mox chief executive Deniz Güven discuss how challenger banks are challenging the status quo and their vision for the future.
More information is available at https://meafintech.com/
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