Banks in the UAE are heavily investing in new technologies and reinventing their strategies. One of the key focus areas is social meaid and enhancing customer experience at the branches. Recently, Emirates NBD deployed an Interactive Teller Machine (ITM) at the Dubai Mall branch. This is a video-based interactive facility that allows customers to carry out transactions with the aid of a centrally-based teller. More ITMs will be launched this year. A senior official of the bank said the bank expects to add more functionalities to its mobile banking platform and pointed out that recently it had introduced the DirectRemit proposition, a service that enables its non-resident Indian customers to remit money online in just under a minute. The bank is also expected to introduce a tablet-based financial planning service and is investing heavily on social media platforms. The bank expects the traditional branch banking to remain an important mode of transaction as banking in the region is built on relationship and personal interactions. What will change is the nature of activity in the branches as more transactional activity will move to digital channels while the advisory areas will remain in the branches.
