A study carried out by Deloitte revealed that around 82 percent of banking customers in the Middle East are open to using fintech solutions, while currently, only 22 percent are actively using fintech solutions in the region.
The Middle East fintech study by Deloitte found that of the 18 percent unwilling to use fintech products, 40 percent cited security and privacy as their biggest concerns.
Rushdi Duqah, Deloitte Middle East Digital Leader told the media, “We hope to provide insights that increase transparency on the evolution of the Middle East fintech ecosystem, and to strengthen the cooperation between banks and fintechs, enabling banks to offer their customers innovative value propositions.”
The Deloitte study took into account the responses of some 1,500 banking customers and more than 50 digital leaders from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan. The study finds that there is limited alignment between customer expectations and bank offerings and the fintech ecosystem in the Middle East is characterised by a certain degree of contradiction and dichotomy.
The study further reveals that even though the fintech ecosystem is evolving, however, when it comes to funding and investment, the sector seems to be lagging behind in the region.
According to KPMG’s Pulse of fintech survey, fintech startups in the Middle East were involved in 2,693 deals in 2019 worth $135.7 billion.
The industry in the Middle East and North Africa region is set to attract $2.5 billion by 2022, according to a study by Mena Research Partners.