1、GCC finance industry:The rise of the challenger bank3GCC finance industry The rise of the challenger bankBecause of COVID-19,consumer expectations of financial institutions have evolved and today theres an imminent need to digitalize all services.Consumers expect speed,efficiency,and reliability fro

2、m banks;they want it all and they want it now.The digital revolution creates an opportunity to increase financial inclusion in the Gulf region.However,in recent years,traditional banks have focused their efforts on meeting regulatory requirements and compliance,without a solid digitalization strateg

3、y.The main challenge facing financial service providers revolves around onboarding and customer service both of which remain inadequate and largely inefficient.Digitalization could resolve many of these challenges like Know Your Customer(KYC),anti-money laundering(AML),opening a bank account remotel

4、y,and many others.The regulatory environment in the GCC has become digital-friendly,allowing services to become more streamlined and transparent.However,long-held ideas of how finance and banking should look have delayed established banks from taking a risk and seizing the opportunity.As a result,tr

5、aditional banks in the GCC established internal challenger banks as a way to innovate and experiment with new products and services.By giving an internal team the autonomy and ability to move fast,traditional banks continued to operate as established businesses while also benefiting from the insight

6、s coming from the startup from within.Internal challenger banks have risen in popularity among GCC Gen Z and Millennial consumers who use digital banking as their primary source of financial services.Instead of demolishing the house to build an entirely new one,traditional banks decided to build a s