16-05-2025
AB Majlis podcast: Do we really need AI in banking? Mashreq's head of tech weighs in
Mashreq is exploring conversational banking systems using voice recognition while maintaining that humans will remain essential for complex financial decisions, according to the bank's technology chief.
Mohamed Abdel Razek, who oversees technology, data and transformation at Mashreq , outlined the bank's AI strategy during an interview on Arabian Business's AB Majlis podcast, describing it as 'trustworthy AI-infused banking'.
'CX, or customer experience, is the first pillar, and that is your chatbot voice automation. Eventually you can do banking with voice only,' Abdel Razek explained. 'Why can't I say 'hello, Mashreq, how are you?' 'Oh, hi, Mr. Mohamed,' they recognise my voice as a biometric print. This is called conversational banking. We're not there yet, but can it be done now? Probably, yes.'
AI vs. human banking relationships
Abdel Razek identified four quadrants guiding Mashreq's AI implementation: customer experience, productivity, growth, and protection against fraud. Despite technological advances, he emphasised that banking fundamentally remains built on trust.
'Would you take a home loan with a computer and sign a 25-year commitment?' he questioned when discussing fully automated services, suggesting that complex financial decisions will continue to require human judgment.
While the bank is exploring automated decision engines for credit approval to handle higher volumes, Abdel Razek noted the challenge of maintaining quality as banking becomes more inclusive: 'Traditionally, a bank would have half a million clients, a million clients. What if you have 7 million clients?'
Abdel Razek also described potential future ATM experiences that could leverage conversational interfaces. 'We could have automations where, if you go to the ATM, you scan your card and it asks, 'Do you want your last transaction?' You respond 'Yes,' and you don't have to input amounts… It would be conversational, either at the ATM or over voice.'
He clarified that while such features aren't currently implemented, they represent the direction of possible development.
UAE's digital infrastructure advantage
Mashreq's AI strategy aligns with the UAE's broader ambitions in artificial intelligence. The bank, which operates in 11 countries including the US, UK, and Hong Kong, is leveraging the UAE's digital infrastructure advantage.
'The UAE is pioneering in this field. There's a huge interest in becoming a key player, not only in the region, but at the global stage,' Abdel Razek said. 'UAE specifically had the digital infrastructure, so it's really easy, or easier to adopt and become leading.'
He cited the country's advanced airport systems featuring facial recognition as an example of the national digital foundation that financial institutions are building upon.
Regarding future developments, Abdel Razek pointed to agent-to-agent banking as an emerging frontier: 'Eventually your agent talking to the bank's agent to do certain journeys is probably where we're going in the near future.'
As AI-powered cyber threats increase, Mashreq has implemented AI systems for pattern recognition to block attacks: 'As the threat actor has access to AI… we also have to use AI to detect when this is happening.'
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