The Central Bank has agreed with banks and telecoms companies on a road map for improving mobile phone banking services in a bid to raise the value of mobile transactions in the UAE.
A technical working group including representatives from the regulator, local banks, Etisalat and du has been launched to look at ways to make it easier and cheaper for customers to make financial transactions on their mobile phones.
It follows a meeting of the entities at the Central Bank in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, according to a statement from the regulator.
With nearly 14 million mobile phones in use - a ratio of almost two devices per individual - the country has one of the highest mobile penetration rates in the world. Yet many banks have yet to keep up with the increasing migration to mobile banking services in the developed world.
"Banks should be allocating more resources to mobile banking as it is not that great a leap from online banking services and it can allow banks to grow quickly without the need to expand their branch network," said Chiradeep Ghosh, a banking analyst at Sico Research in Bahrain.
During the meeting, the Central Bank urged Etisalat and du to lower the cost of "core systems and telecommunications services" to enable customers to make payments and other transactions on their phone more cheaply. It also asked the two telecoms companies to cut their charges for data transmissions and SMS.
Etisalat and du vowed to offer a more user-friendly, high-capacity email system to enable more efficient bill payments. The Central Bank said it would develop a common payment system to link the services.
The regulator said it would also urge banks to send SMS transaction confirmations on credit cards and bank accounts as a way to reduce fraud.
The Middle East's contribution to mobile transactions is set to be worth US$27.6 billion by 2017, accounting for about 4 per cent of the global value, according to forecasts released by the research firm Gartner last week. The region accounts for only 1 per cent of the global value at present.
While money transfers are the main driver of this growth, payments between business to business and business to consumer will also play a key role, according to analysts.
"The potential is in money transfer and using mobile wallet to transfer money between people," said Sandy Shen, the research director of consumer services at Gartner.
"It requires business collaboration between banks, telecoms and merchants to grow."
The Central Bank's meeting follows the launch last month by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, of a government campaign to raise the number of services available via mobile phone. The mGovernment scheme aims to roll out mobile services across all government departments within 24 months.
Nobody was available to comment further from the Central Bank or Etisalat and du yesterday about the meeting.
The meeting was attended by SultanAl Suwaidi, the Governor of the Central Bank, Ahmed Abdul Karim Julfar, the chief executive of Etisalat, Osman Sultan, the chief executive of du and Tirad Mahmoud, the chief executive of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, who represented the UAE Banks Federation. The UAE Banks Federation appointed Emirates NBD, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Commercial Bank of Dubai and Mashreq to sit on the technical working group, according to people familiar with the matter.
The UAE lags behind many other countries in its use of mobile banking services - a key drag on its global competitiveness. Etisalat has offered SMS banking since 2010, which has been utilised by Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and Emirates NBD to offer a free mobile transaction service to its customers including utility bill payments and account transfers, though no bank has been able to allow payments to other third parties such as retailers.
Etisalat has offered SMS banking since 2010.
"Technology is an enabler and can allow a bank to function better. Mobile banking can be a driver of growth and business opportunities," said Philippe De Backer, a partner and director at Bain and Company, the consultancy firm.
Some of the fastest developments in mobile banking have been made in Africa, where the lack of bank infrastructure has encouraged financial firms to make use of mobile phones instead.
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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MATCH INFO
Manchester City 2 (Mahrez 04', Ake 84')
Leicester City 5 (Vardy 37' pen, 54', 58' pen, Maddison 77', Tielemans 88' pen)
Man of the match: Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Vikram%20Vedha
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Emirates exiles
Will Wilson is not the first player to have attained high-class representative honours after first learning to play rugby on the playing fields of UAE.
Jonny Macdonald
Abu Dhabi-born and raised, the current Jebel Ali Dragons assistant coach was selected to play for Scotland at the Hong Kong Sevens in 2011.
Jordan Onojaife
Having started rugby by chance when the Jumeirah College team were short of players, he later won the World Under 20 Championship with England.
Devante Onojaife
Followed older brother Jordan into England age-group rugby, as well as the pro game at Northampton Saints, but recently switched allegiance to Scotland.
Company%20Profile
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Martin Sabbagh profile
Job: CEO JCDecaux Middle East
In the role: Since January 2015
Lives: In the UAE
Background: M&A, investment banking
Studied: Corporate finance
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
FINAL LEADERBOARD
1. Jordan Spieth (USA) 65 69 65 69 - 12-under-par
2. Matt Kuchar (USA) 65 71 66 69 - 9-under
3. Li Haotong (CHN) 69 73 69 63 - 6-under
T4. Rory McIlroy (NIR) 71 68 69 67 - 5-under
T4. Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP) 67 73 67 68 - 5-under
T6. Marc Leishman (AUS) 69 76 66 65 - 4-under
T6. Matthew Southgate (ENG) 72 72 67 65 - 4-under
T6. Brooks Koepka (USA) 65 72 68 71 - 4-under
T6. Branden Grace (RSA) 70 74 62 70 - 4-under
T6. Alexander Noren (SWE) 68 72 69 67 - 4-under
THE BIG MATCH
Arsenal v Manchester City,
Sunday, Emirates Stadium, 6.30pm
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Credits
Produced by: Colour Yellow Productions and Eros Now
Director: Mudassar Aziz
Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jassi Gill, Piyush Mishra, Diana Penty, Aparshakti Khurrana
Star rating: 2.5/5
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The biog
Full name: Aisha Abdulqader Saeed
Age: 34
Emirate: Dubai
Favourite quote: "No one has ever become poor by giving"
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
South Africa v India schedule
Tests: 1st Test Jan 5-9, Cape Town; 2nd Test Jan 13-17, Centurion; 3rd Test Jan 24-28, Johannesburg
ODIs: 1st ODI Feb 1, Durban; 2nd ODI Feb 4, Centurion; 3rd ODI Feb 7, Cape Town; 4th ODI Feb 10, Johannesburg; 5th ODI Feb 13, Port Elizabeth; 6th ODI Feb 16, Centurion
T20Is: 1st T20I Feb 18, Johannesburg; 2nd T20I Feb 21, Centurion; 3rd T20I Feb 24, Cape Town
The specs
Engine 60kwh FWD
Battery Rimac 120kwh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry
Power 204hp Torque 360Nm
Price, base / as tested Dh174,500
UAE jiu-jitsu squad
Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)
KEY%20DATES%20IN%20AMAZON'S%20HISTORY
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You may remember …
Robbie Keane (Atletico de Kolkata) The Irish striker is, along with his former Spurs teammate Dimitar Berbatov, the headline figure in this season’s ISL, having joined defending champions ATK. His grand entrance after arrival from Major League Soccer in the US will be delayed by three games, though, due to a knee injury.
Dimitar Berbatov (Kerala Blasters) Word has it that Rene Meulensteen, the Kerala manager, plans to deploy his Bulgarian star in central midfield. The idea of Berbatov as an all-action, box-to-box midfielder, might jar with Spurs and Manchester United supporters, who more likely recall an always-languid, often-lazy striker.
Wes Brown (Kerala Blasters) Revived his playing career last season to help out at Blackburn Rovers, where he was also a coach. Since then, the 23-cap England centre back, who is now 38, has been reunited with the former Manchester United assistant coach Meulensteen, after signing for Kerala.
Andre Bikey (Jamshedpur) The Cameroonian defender is onto the 17th club of a career has taken him to Spain, Portugal, Russia, the UK, Greece, and now India. He is still only 32, so there is plenty of time to add to that tally, too. Scored goals against Liverpool and Chelsea during his time with Reading in England.
Emiliano Alfaro (Pune City) The Uruguayan striker has played for Liverpool – the Montevideo one, rather than the better-known side in England – and Lazio in Italy. He was prolific for a season at Al Wasl in the Arabian Gulf League in 2012/13. He returned for one season with Fujairah, whom he left to join Pune.