Sajjad Ahmad, Deputy Business Editor

The 12th edition of the Middle East Banking Innovation Summit 2022 held recently in Dubai to discuss the growth prospects of the industry and highlight the latest trends in the banking sector.

The summit brought together the top players in the banking and financial services industries for an in-depth look into the latest technologies and digital developments that are transforming the industry.

Banking leaders, Fintech experts and over 400 senior financial services professionals discussed the future of digital banking across a two-day summit agenda.

Experts urged the adoption of technologies for the growth of the sector and improvement of efficiencies in the organisations.

Financial technologies (Fintech) companies across the globe showcased their innovative solutions during the event.

TerraPay, a digital payment solution provider, also participated at the summit and discussed new dynamics and opportunities of the industry.

Bassem Awada, General Manager Mena Region, TerraPay, said “ The banking industry globally like every other industry is changing in the new digital era as the innovative payment solutions are changing the digital payments ecosystem across the globe.”

He added,“ the Middle East banking sector in general and the UAE in particular are adopting the latest trends for better and seamless experience. The UAE digital transformation drive is the testament that how much importance the country give to embrace new technologies for economic growth.”

He explained, “The role of SMEs is growing in every country in modern age and SMEs adoption of latest solutions vital to achieving a cashless economy.”

About the company participation at the event, he said, “ TerraPay highlighted its innovative payment solutions as a means of providing access and adoption to all participants in the digital payments ecosystem. Backed by the world’s most trusted institutions:  The International Finance Corporation (IFC), Partech and Prime Ventures, the company is paving the way for financial inclusion, financial resilience, and reduced inequality. Delivering seamless customer journeys with international remittances at the core, and embarking on a unified payments offering in the business payments space, TerraPay is constantly designing future-ready digital solutions, integrating with banks, mobile wallet operators, and merchants.

TerraPay has a well-entrenched international partners network - 4.5 Billion+ bank accounts, 1.5Billion+ mobile wallets, and a large and diversified merchant ecosystem, spanning across 100 receive countries and 202 send countries. TerraPay has been an advocate of financial inclusion, driven by the vision to achieve the SDG 2030 goal of reducing remittance costs and mobile wallet remittances, by providing cost effective money transfer services to partners in send markets, thereby reducing the global average of remittance costs from 7% to 3% in some key markets.