Nine out of 10 UAE bank account holders think opening an account takes too much time and that bank onboarding processes are too complicated, a recent survey by IDnow Middle East indicated.
Close to 82 percent of bank customers were unhappy with having to go to a branch and physically hand over documents, the digital identity verification provider’s survey of over a 1,000 people across the UAE indicated.
Meanwhile, 76 percent of UAE residents indicated they want an entirely digital bank account opening process, with that figure rising to 85 percent amongst higher income groups (with a monthly salary of AED25,000 and above).
Amongst non-bank account holders, 86 percent said they had started a bank account application but quit the process because it was too complicated.
“Customers across the UAE are crying out for easier ways to open a bank account. We know how deeply UAE banks care about their customers, so these results should be a wake-up call,” said Oliver Obitayo, chief commercial officer at IDnow.
“Over the past few years, we have seen rapid innovation and improvements in the banking sector, and by deploying the right technology the problems of slow, complicated bank account onboarding can quickly become a thing of the past,” he continued.
Digital identity proofing and verification can help onboarding for a range of financial services, including banking, fintech, buy now-pay later, digital assets and cryptocurrency platforms.
IDnow commissioned YouGov to conduct the survey across a representative demographic sample of UAE residents with the aim of gathering customer perceptions regarding traditional bank account opening versus digital processes.
“Customers want convenient, quick and entirely digital procedures. They don’t want to carry lots of paperwork to a branch and they value instant account opening that is safe and secure,” explained Obitayo.
“Effective digital identity verification and document proofing can help to simplify the process for customers and save banks time and money,” he continued.
IDnow Middle East is based in DIFC’s Innovation Hub and covers 193 countries with global offices in Germany, France and the UK.
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