Dr. Kharbash commends UAE's financial community for rapid technology adoption

Addressing the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) Regional Conference being held at the Fairmount Hotel in Dubai today, Dr. Kharbash said "Effectively harnessing technology and automation are dependent on integration and the ability of different institutions to work together to drive sector-wide efficiencies. Despite very high levels of aggressive retail competition and a large number of banks, the financial community has worked together to create one of the most user-friendly systems in the region, allowing customers a huge amount of flexibility in the service offering. This ability to move our banking system rapidly into the paperless and real time zone is partly thanks to our modern and progressive leadership, which has overtly promoted the use and adoption of technology".

While noting that the UAE has one of the highest levels of Internet penetration with online banking being a common feature at most retail banks, Dr. Kharbash also highlighted how WAP and mobile banking were becoming well-established features at Islamic banks.

Showcasing Dubai Internet City and Knowledge Village as prime examples of projects that actively capture technology to enhance performance, Dr. Kharbash also said that the UAE had been quick to understand the value of technology as a distribution channel diversifier and a means of ensuring a better quality and more flexible service.

Dr. Kharbash said that the success of technology led initiatives in the UAE could be attributed to a nation-wide commitment to improving the way things are done and in bettering the quality of what is delivered. He also went on to say that this philosophy is not just the domain of the smaller more agile private sector and that large-scale government institutions were also preaching the benefits in this regard.

Dr. Kharbash detailed the efforts of the Ministry of Finance & Industry who had been mandated to drive greater efficiency and effectiveness across all government operations and were spearheading the process of automating all government transactions. "The E-Government project that is underway in the UAE brings technology directly to stakeholders and allows more effective and efficient interaction between the government and stakeholders. E-Government automates financial transactions across all government entities and establishes a standard technology foundation to be used across federal entities" he noted.

Dr. Kharbash concluded his speech by noting that the E-Government project reflects the UAE government's role as a facilitator and partner in working to create an operating environment that is conducive to innovation and growth.