ADCB has become the latest UAE bank to raise its digital game with the launch of its first uBank digital banking centre in Abu Dhabi’s Yas Mall.

The uBank centre, unveiled by ADCB yesterday, will enable customers to access key banking services in a paperless environment by means of biometric authentication, a digital signature system and video assistance from a Virtual Relationship Officer.

Customers will be able to use the centre to open a bank account and receive a debit card, credit card and cheque leaves on the spot, with existing ADCB customers able to obtain instant replacements for lost credit or debit cards.

“It is not just about digital ‘for digital’s sake’, it is about a consistent commitment to incorporate technology that creates value for customers by improving the overall customer experience, and subsequently the business,” said Arup Mukhopadhyay, ADCB’s head of consumer banking.

ADCB plans to launch two further uBank centres in Abu Dhabi’s Al Wahda Mall and City Walk, Dubai later this year.

The launch of uBank comes as local lenders increasingly turn to digital technologies to cut costs and win new customers, particularly among millennials.

Emirates NBD is to announce today the launch of an as-yet unnamed digital-only “lifestyle bank for millennials”, after unveiling the project in June last year.

Commercial Bank of Dubai announced plans in November for a similar digital-only bank, CBD NOW, with a launch expected later this year.

Mashreq, which incorporated Apple’s voice assistant Siri as a payment method in September, last month became the first UAE-based bank to offer Samsung Pay’s mobile payment service, which enables compatible smartphones to make payments nearly everywhere where credit cards are accepted.

jeverington@thenational.ae

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