Those of us of a certain age will remember the weekend or lunchtime trip to our local bank to get our financial house in order. It was an essential part of our weekly calendar - for deposits, withdrawals, balance checks or any other business. We had to set aside time to visit a bank branch, queue patiently then deal with the teller.
For some people this was inconvenient, but for banks it was hugely expensive. Rent, equipment and staffing costs made maintaining a branch a significant financial outlay. That was why banks, in the Middle East and beyond, turned their focus to call centres, online and mobile banking channels.
While there might have been questions as to whether this improved service, there is no doubt that banks were able to lower many of their transaction costs and get customers out of the branch.
So against this backdrop, why is the bank branch now making a comeback? One simple reason: trust. The global financial crisis has hit many people hard and, fairly or unfairly, the banks have shouldered a large portion of the blame.
This has eroded trust in banks and reinvigorated the need for face-to-face customer service and consumer banking relationships.
Research carried out by SunGard and Celent has shown that, in the Middle East, one of the top three factors for people in selecting a bank was branch location, despite the uptake of digital banking.
So the simple reality is that a majority of bank customers still want human interaction and as far as their banking and finances are concerned, they still need that physical reassurance that their money is safe - especially in a world where trust in banks has declined sharply. The invisibility that comes with virtual worlds makes this trust all the more important.
One Middle East bank recently tested this theory by giving customers access to tellers only through a hallway that was kitted out with touchscreen ATMs, kiosks and other digital banking devices.
There were still queues for the teller, even though the electronic devices could fulfil this same role. It is clear that customers still look to the branch as the human face of their banking relationship.
And from a bank's perspective, the branch is still a vital source in driving revenue from customers. Online and mobile are largely used as transactional channels, whereas face-to-face time is responsible for about 80 per cent of new product bank sales.
So despite prior claims that the bank branch had had its day, there is now growing evidence that branch networks are, once more, increasing in importance. This growth is very much taking place in the Middle East, with new branches and more modern and technological redesigns taking place across the region.
This leads us to the main challenge facing Middle East bank branch networks today; how do they upgrade their facilities, which have been, in some cases, neglected for many years, to meet the requirements of the 21st century and its increasingly more tech-savvy customers? Today's customers - and crucially, today's bank employees under the age of 45 - have kept pace with the astonishing technological advances of the past few years, whereas the infrastructure of the bank branch has not. Customers now self-educate a lot more and this is now exposing flaws in the old branch model, as customers go into the branch often better informed than branch staff themselves, thus negatively impacting the branch customer experience.
Banks are increasingly starting to recognise that this channel needs to evolve with the digital age to complement the customer experience across all other channels. With that, the digitalisation of the bank branch is born.
Banks are now breathing life back into the branch by getting more creative and using innovative technologies to boost the customer branch experience and complement digital channels.
In the Middle East, you can see this tech wave now creeping into the branch as many bank walls are now decorated with touchscreens and their staff "enabled" with tablets and other mobile devices aimed at making the branch experience more efficient and more enjoyable.
For example, a leading Islamic bank in Abu Dhabi is transforming its branch network using new front-office solutions to help mobilise staff by providing them with real-time access to the bank's transaction processing system and serve clients while away from physical counters. This is helping to enhance staff productivity and boost branch efficiency to improve customer service levels, respond better to customer demand and increase revenue opportunities.
Linked to this is the need to safeguard a branch's role as a sustainable source of income for the bank.
A PricewaterhouseCoopers study from December shows that the cost of a branch transaction is about 20 times higher than a mobile transaction and more than 40 times higher than an online transaction.
Faced with this kind of disparity, it is imperative that banks re-evaluate their branch strategy to improve cost efficiency. One Middle East bank has invested in technology to cut its front-office system infrastructure from 12 applications to one, a good example of how clever IT rationalisation through new technology can generate significant cost savings for the branch.
Once at the centre of a debate over their very future, it seems that banks cannot now live without branches. The physical and trusted interaction they offer to customers is still in demand and it plays a vital role in helping banks to regain trust and generate sustainable sources of income.
But banks cannot rely on the bank branch of old and must revitalise this channel to bring it in line with the digitalised world that customers now expect across all aspects of their banking relationship.
Wissam Khoury is the managing director of SunGard Financial Systems, Middle East
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The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Final results:
Open men
Australia 94 (4) beat New Zealand 48 (0)
Plate men
England 85 (3) beat India 81 (1)
Open women
Australia 121 (4) beat South Africa 52 (0)
Under 22 men
Australia 68 (2) beat New Zealand 66 (2)
Under 22 women
Australia 92 (3) beat New Zealand 54 (1)
Zodi%20%26%20Tehu%3A%20Princes%20Of%20The%20Desert
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
'HIJRAH%3A%20IN%20THE%20FOOTSTEPS%20OF%20THE%20PROPHET'
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
SPECS
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
UAE SQUAD
Omar Abdulrahman (Al Hilal), Ali Khaseif, Ali Mabkhout, Salem Rashed, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Zayed Al Ameri, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Khalid Essa, Ahmed Barman, Ryan Yaslam, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmin (Al Wasl), Adel Al Hosani, Ali Hassan Saleh, Majed Suroor (Sharjah), Ahmed Khalil, Walid Abbas, Majed Hassan, Ismail Al Hammadi (Shabab Al Ahli), Hassan Al Muharrami, Fahad Al Dhahani (Bani Yas), Mohammed Al Shaker (Ajman)
RESULT
Norway 1 Spain 1
Norway: King (90 4')
Spain: Niguez (47')
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE rugby season
FIXTURES
West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers v Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Division 1
Dubai Sharks v Dubai Hurricanes II
Al Ain Amblers v Dubai Knights Eagles II
Dubai Tigers II v Abu Dhabi Saracens
Jebel Ali Dragons II v Abu Dhabi Harlequins II
Sharjah Wanderers v Dubai Exiles II
LAST SEASON
West Asia Premiership
Winners – Bahrain
Runners-up – Dubai Exiles
UAE Premiership
Winners – Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Runners-up – Jebel Ali Dragons
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners – Dubai Hurricanes
Runners-up – Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Conference
Winners – Dubai Tigers
Runners-up – Al Ain Amblers