Reimagining banking in the Middle East is redefining how financial institutions grow, engage, and innovate. As digital transformation accelerates, banks must evolve to deliver seamless, secure, and personalized experiences that meet rising customer expectations.

Across the UAE and Saudi Arabia, adoption of digital banking continues to surge. According to Capco’s “Bank of the Future” survey, 89% of UAE customers have become more confident using mobile banking services, while 83% now access them primarily via mobile apps. Similarly, Saudi Arabia expects online banking penetration to grow by over 16 percentage points between 2024 and 2029, underscoring the region’s momentum toward smarter, connected financial ecosystems.

Reimagining Banking Middle East with Data and Analytics

Data has become the new cornerstone of success. Through AI, analytics, and machine learning, banks can decode customer behaviour and anticipate needs more precisely than ever. As a result, they can personalize offerings, boost retention, and reduce friction across the customer journey.

A clear example of this transformation is Riyad Bank’s Centre of Intelligence (COI) — Saudi Arabia’s first AI-focused banking hub — which enhances operational efficiency while driving innovation in customer engagement.

By reimagining banking in the Middle East with data-driven strategies, institutions can align financial products with real-time insights and deliver experiences that feel intuitive, predictive, and human.

Hyper-Personalization and Omnichannel Growth

Customers today interact through multiple touchpoints — mobile apps, websites, and physical branches — expecting consistent, personalized service. Therefore, delivering a seamless omnichannel experience has become the foundation of loyalty.

In the UAE, 70% of consumers are willing to share personal data for tailored experiences, while in Saudi Arabia, the number climbs to 71%. This readiness empowers banks to use analytics ethically and transparently, transforming everyday banking into relationship-driven engagement.

Digital Sales Outreach and New Engagement Models

Digital outreach is not an option — it’s essential. Mobile-first strategies, social media engagement, and AI-driven marketing are now central to how banks connect with customers.

Take D360 Bank, one of Saudi Arabia’s first digital-only institutions. It attracted over 600,000 customers within two months of launch, proving that mobile-first banking can scale fast when powered by user-centric design.

Ecosystem Collaboration: Powering Innovation in the Middle East

Another major force reimagining banking in the Middle East is ecosystem collaboration. By partnering with fintechs, big tech firms, and infrastructure providers, banks can expand capabilities faster than ever before.

Globally, fintech startups have surged from 12,000 in 2020 to nearly 30,000 in 2024. The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) now hosts over 1,000 fintech firms, while Saudi Arabia’s fintech ecosystem has more than doubled within a year. This growth underscores the importance of collaboration as a driver of agility and innovation.

Such partnerships empower banks to deploy advanced solutions like AI-powered risk scoring, embedded finance, and real-time payments — all while ensuring compliance with regional and global standards.

Looking Ahead: Building a Future-Ready Financial Ecosystem

The future of reimagining banking in the Middle East lies in intelligent, insight-led operations. Automated recommendations, predictive support, and AI-driven decision-making will soon define how banks engage customers.

Forward-thinking institutions in the UAE are already adopting AI-assisted frameworks that streamline service and elevate the customer experience. In Saudi Arabia, agile innovation models like Alinma Bank’s digital factory accelerate product launches and improve customer alignment.

As the region continues to evolve, banks that combine innovation, collaboration, and customer-centric transformation will achieve sustainable growth and long-term market leadership.

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Taking place alongside LEAP, the inaugural DeepFest – in partnership with the Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA) – will run from February 7-9 and gather drivers of the global Artificial Intelligence eco-system to unveil life-changing, multi-sector initiatives in a thought-leadership conference and sector-specific tracks, trainings, live-demos, start-up pitches and an exhibition featuring companies transforming the world we live and work in. Support comes from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), which is powering LEAP in conjunction with Tahaluf – a strategic joint venture co-owned by Informa PLC and the SAFCSP.

Global business leaders, technocrats and experts will take to LEAP’s main stage to bring new perspectives to pressing world issues, including climate emergency and sustainable development, health crises, equality, inclusion, belonging and diversity. They will discuss the leadership strategies of tech giants and unicorns, explore web3’s business potential, and look to redefine governance paradigms for privacy, safety, and security.

The event will host over 700 billionaire investors, astronauts, technocrats, and sporting superstars turned tech investors across LEAP’s various stages housing 15 conferences.

With over 900 exhibitors confirmed for 2023, LEAP has drawn a powerful international line-up, some of which will take part in new mega tent displays and include world-leading names from throughout the USA, Middle East, Levant, North Africa, the Sub-continent, Europe, and Scandinavia. They include Saudi Arabian heavyweights STC, NEOM, Saudi Aramco, Mobily and ELM lining up alongside an international cadre of the biggest names in the tech business, including Snapchat, Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, Visa, Alibaba cloud, Ericsson, Huawei, Dell, Nokia, SAP, Microsoft, Cisco, and IBM.

Some of LEAP’s speakers this year include football legend and tech investor Thierry Henry; billionaire venture capitalist Tim Draper; two-time World Boxing Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua; Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO of Nokia; Borje Ekholm, President and CEO of Ericsson; Steve Bartlett, the youngest Dragon’s Den investor, podcaster, and founder of Social Chain; Gitanjali Rao, the 17-year-old American inventor and TIME’s first-ever Kid of the Year; Susan Kilrain, NASA astronaut and the second woman and youngest person to pilot the Space Shuttle; and Sian Proctor, an explorer and mission pilot for the Inspiration4 all-civilian orbital mission to space. The scheduled investors control a combined and unprecedented US $1.6 trillion fund pool.

“Our rapidly changing world demands we keep pace with appropriate regulation and governance, and we need the best brains in the business to help us navigate a globally appropriate pathway,” said Faisal Al Khamisi, Chairman of the SAFCSP.

“These are the 21st century inventors who are presenting the world of living and work – but not as we currently know it,” said Michael Champion, Regional EVP, MEA at Informa Markets, which organises LEAP. “This is an unprecedented and universal exhibitor mix which will send technology advancement into a whole new world-living orbit. LEAP is the window to tomorrow’s world, an event which powers the future and empowers those looking to shape it.”

LEAP has garnered support from numerous leading government and private sector organisations. Strategic partners and sponsors for LEAP23 include NEOM, STC, Saudi Aramco, Mobily, IBM, Microsoft, Ericsson, Huawei, and Najm Insurance. The 2023 edition will also host country pavilions from the United Kingdom, Finland, Japan, Pakistan, Indonesia, Oman, and India.