The first day of the conference will see a key panel session comprising leading banking technology experts deliberating on the growing need for Islamic banks to re-engineer in order to address evolving customer needs in the digital era.
Amwaj Islands, Kingdom of Bahrain, 22 November 2017: Middle East Global Advisors, a leading financial intelligence platform facilitating the development of knowledge-based economies in the MENASEA markets, will convene the 24th edition of their flagship offering – The World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC), the largest and most prestigious gathering of Islamic banking and finance leaders in the world, on December 4th, 5th & 6th in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Based on a strategic partnership with the Central Bank of Bahrain, the three-day long forum will take place at the ART Rotana Hotel in Amwaj Islands.
The theme for WIBC 2017 – “Drivers of Economic Growth & Risks: Policymakers & Regulators”, is in line with the conference’s steady vision to serve as a compass for the global Islamic finance and banking industry, and is expected to draw participation from over 1300 global industry leaders, policy makers, innovators and stakeholders, all focused on generating breakthrough insights that help navigate through the complexities of the global financial system.
Touted as a catalyst for unprecedented change, digitization has resulted in constant disruption to existing business models, processes and services for Islamic Banks. The advent of the digital revolution has brought with it a gamut of new improved user experiences resulting in a paradigm shift in customer behavior, that’s made customer engagement all the more hard. With the rapid change in technology in the banking sector, and other non-bank players entering the market, the intermediary link between institutions and customers has become less direct. Enhancing customer value and establishing a direct control of customer relationships has emerged as a key differentiator in a stiff competitive environment. Interestingly, according to the World Islamic Banking Competitiveness Report 2016 by EY, Islamic banks still have a lower customer penetration in mobile banking compared to conventional banks and the digitization efforts need to catch up.
While in the past, Islamic Banks were behind their conventional banking counterparts in terms of innovation and technology, however, now many in the Gulf and the Middle East, especially those that have performed well over the past few years, have realized the power of re-engineering their business models and adopting a more agile approach to digital banking.
Speaking on behalf of WIBC’s Islamic Banking Technology Partner, Mohammed Kateeb, Group Chairman & CEO, Path Solutions, said, “The Islamic finance industry is going through drastic changes as a consequence of evolving customer behavior, channel proliferation and the digitization of operations in general. However, it’s important to recognize the common challenges and opportunities facing the industry at large. The Islamic finance industry has a lot of catching up to do in terms of placing an emphasis on customer and market evolutions and process change requirements. In this relation, I look forward to contributing to the critical discussion on digital banking at the 24th World Islamic Banking Conference next month.”
To find out more about the 24th World Islamic Banking Conference, visit: www.wibc2017.com
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