Qorus, a global association for retail financial institutions announced the winners of the Qorus Reinvention Awards – MEA during a live ceremony in Dubai.
Applicants to Qorus’s long-running Banking Innovation Awards and Innovation in Insurance Awards automatically qualify for acknowledgment in this prestigious regional award program that shines the spotlight on the best ideas and practices transforming the financial services industry in the Middle East and Africa. This year programs collectively attracted some 700 entries by leading banks and insurers across the globe.
“Once again, we are delighted to be shining the spotlight on the world-class innovation happening in these fast-growing regions,” says Stewart Lockie, regional director for Qorus in the Middle East. “We hope by bringing their stories of creativity to the fore it will offer inspiration for others and help transform financial services for the better.”
The winners of the Qorus Reinvention Awards – MEA 2024 are:
Qorus and Infosys Finacle announce winners of 2024 Banking Innovation Awards
• Emirates NBD (United Arab Emirates) – was named MEA Innovator of the Year for the firms’ ongoing dedication to innovation and delivering world-class experiences to its customers with the launch of several new products and services. In particular, Emirates NBD’s digital bank, Liv was a bronze winner at the Qorus-Infosys Finacle Banking Awards 2024 for its ‘Game on Deposit’ initiative that used gamification to encourage customers to invest in its fixed deposit accounts. Its rewarded customers with a 10% per annum interest rate on a four-month fixed deposit if they predicted the winner of the Euros 24 football tournament, with lower rates granted to clients whose teams were runners-up or semi-finalists. Runners-up in silver and bronze place were Attijariwafa Bank (Morocco), and Discovery Group (South Africa), respectively.
• Standard Bank (South Africa) – received the Customer Experience award for its Credit Score Feature. This helps customers improve their financial health by providing them with easy-to-access insights and advice about their creditworthiness. The bank has integrated a credit score feature on its mobile banking app that allows account holders to track how they are being rated by the Experian credit bureau and to access tips on how they could improve their creditworthiness. Runners-up in silver and bronze place were Bank Alfalah (Pakistan) for The Digital Lifestyle Branch and BankDhofar (Oman) for Enterprise Voice of Customer Program, respectively.
• DFCU Bank (Uganda) – received the Distribution award for its Investment Club App that extends its support of Uganda’s more than 135,000 investment and savings clubs. The mobile app allows members to track contributions, manage lending and collections and gauge returns in real-time and has attracted more than 10,000 downloads, spurring the growth of its retail banking business and advancing its promotion of sound financial practices. Runners-up in silver and bronze place were FNB (South Africa) for Money Protect and Riyad Bank (Saudi Arabia) for Riyad Bank Al Hilal Co-branded Credit Cards, respectively.
• Rakbank (United Arab Emirates) – received the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) award for Advance Against Salary (AAS). It teamed up with payment services provider Edenred to launch a wage card that allows low-income workers to draw funds in advance of their upcoming earnings. Workers can access the AAS facility on their wage cards via Edenred’s C3Pay mobile app. Runners-up in silver and bronze place were Mauritius Commercial Bank (Mauritius) for Lokal is Beautiful and KCB Group (Kenya) for Female Led and Made Enterprises, respectively.
• Rand Merchant Bank (South Africa) – received the New Ways of Working award for Digital Twins in a Digital World. The bank is using Digital Twins, virtual representations of products and systems, to better integrate a range of process automation technologies and to help its employees work more effectively. The bank’s Center of Excellence manages more than 250 Digital Twins, synchronizing technologies such as Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and GenAI, and has improved turnaround times in critical product lines by more than 20%. Runners-up in silver and bronze place were Attijariwafa Bank (Morrocco) for Wenov Innovation Lab and Misr Life Insurance Company (Egypt) for Integrated Life Insurance System (ILIS), respectively.
• AXA Assurance Maroc (Morrocco) – received the Operational Excellence award for Open Insur. This innovative distribution model is driving its expansion into the motor insurance market and uses a network of mobile representatives linked to master agents, harnesses the power of affinity marketing and requires no additional investment in physical infrastructure or distribution channels. It can be scaled to accommodate further offerings such as health cover or SME insurance. Runners-up in silver and bronze place were SAB (Saudi Arabia) for SAB Innovation Excellence Award and Absa Bank (Mauritius) for Pioneering Digital Banking Transformation, respectively.
• Emirates NBD (United Arab Emirates) – was named SME Bank of the Year. The bank is empowering SMEs across the UAE and providing them with a comprehensive suite of products and services, extensive digital solutions across the bank’s touchpoints, and the support of experienced and skilled staff at its branches. Already, close to a quarter of SMEs in the UAE use Emirates NBD as their primary bank. Runners-up in silver and bronze place were Wio Bank (United Arab Emirates) and Rakbank (United Arab Emirates), respectively.
“These awards recognize and reward the very best and brightest ideas so others can learn and grow from their collective experiences,” said John Berry, Qorus CEO. “I am delighted that once again this year’s submissions offer a showcase for just how banks and insurers alike have risen to meet the challenge of the ever-evolving world we find ourselves in. And early next year we will get to celebrate the Asia-Pacific and European innovators that are also changing the face of business as we know it! ”
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