Girl power

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From electronic gadgets such as pink iPods, mobile phones and Playstations to female friendly taxi services in Dubai, the UAE market is saturated with products specifically at women. And as women's spending power increases and roles at home and in the workplace shift, global companies including banks are all clamouring to target this growing market. With women in the Gulf having an estimated US$40bn of personal wealth at their disposal - 60% of which is cash - it is no wonder banks are now targeting "women only" in a big way.

"Women only services are still at a fairly nascent stage and have yet to take a universal form in the UAE. This segment of banking, however, is becoming increasingly significant and with an increase in the population of women of all nationalities this will only continue to grow. The culture of the region holds women in a special position so also lends itself to these type of services," says Karim Beg, head of products and marketing, ABN Amro on this growing trend.

Female friendly banking services vary from bank to bank but generally most offer incentives on spending such as reward schemes. Others focus on the in-branch service available such as dedicated women's only queues and even entire female only staffed branches.

Pakistan's First Women's Bank Limited was one of the first to tap into the female only market when it launched in 1989. The bank only offers credit to companies with a female managing director, if they are more than 50% owned by women or if more than 50% of their staff is female. Despite the launch of this bank in the late 1980s it wasn't until the beginning of the year 2000 that banks in the UAE started to realise the potential of women's spending habits and cash in on the trend.

In 2003 Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) opened its first women only branch, Johara, in Jumeirah which offered the same services to women as it did men but in a female only environment. Every member of staff in the branch is female from the cashiers and the security guards to the customers.

The response from customers has been so positive that Johara now operates in nine branches across the UAE including Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah with 90 dedicated staff.

Mohammad Ameery, senior vice president, retail and business banking services, DIB, says: "Johara is the only one of its kind in the UAE which aims to give a better service to its customers in a totally different atmosphere."

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READERS' COMMENTS

Girl Power
Posted by Riana Auret-DuBois, Dubai, UAE on Wednesday 2 July 2008 at 20:12 UAE time

This is all good and well, but the real issue is that banks promise and do not deliver - it took me almost 6 months - SIX MONTHS - to get my internet banking with Mashreq operational.
I wish I counted the hours on the phone and the number of promises from the helpline that "someone will get back to me in 3 to 5 business days", only for me to have to call back and try again after 2 weeks of no response. Getting that right, THAT is service that means something. I say banks should stop wasting their time on fuzzy side issues and address the real issues. Like delivering what they have promised their customers in the first place.

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