Money’s role has shifted from the end-goal to an enabler.
The average age across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region is 27 years old – with 20 per cent below 15. This digital native generation, coupled with government initiatives that look to 2030 and beyond, are driving the region to progress.
Younger generations expect financial services and brands they engage with to be seamless, fast and engaging – just like the technology they use today. Understanding this mindset is the catalyst to catering to both their future needs and financial aspirations.
The financial sector will transform over the next five years – with three pivotal shifts.
Service
AI’s rapid evolution will give rise to more predictive, fast and user-friendly tech stacks. Finance brands can leverage their own datasets and services – alongside productised offerings – to deliver equivalent levels of personalisation and innovation as the household tech giants.
Gamelike mechanics and behaviours will blend serious learning and transactions with entertainment. Contributions to progressing through a journey will be rewarded. The exchange will become mainstream and integrated into brand experiences and design.
Interface
Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) – machine learning frameworks that span across text, image, 3D and video generation – will become mainstream tools. Brands will be able to automate the content creation process.
Large Language Models (LLMs) such as Google’s LaMDA will revolutionise today’s limited chat interfaces. Sophisticated AI assistants will be able to engage participants in human conversations.
Interfaces will explode beyond the traditional two-dimensions. 3-D, real-time and immersive worlds will be brought together. Augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) will respond to the next generations’ understanding of digital, going beyond a single device to create experiences that focus on exploration across multiple platforms.
Control
Users will increasingly take charge of their digital identities as agents of their wellbeing, commerce and brand interaction. Shifting from the current era of social-login single sign-on (SSO) will enable users to use newer models inspired by today’s Web 3.0 wallets and move away from centralised single solution platforms.
Witnessing the benefit of explicit value exchange and smart interactions will shift customers’ mindset towards more data-sharing (rather than less). The opt-out rate for mobile app tracking is forecast to decline from 85 per cent in 2022 to 60 per cent by the end of 2023.
Younger generations have grown up with crypto and digital assets. They want to control their assets beyond the current limits of the financial system. Crypto, blockchain and decentralised finance (DeFi) will empower future customers to better self-custody their assets beyond the limitations of fiat currency.
A new language of money
Acting as an ally on the next generation’s financial and life journey ensures you have a real reason to show up in their lives while adding value. Empower the next generation: sharing knowledge, celebrating their achievements and rewarding good behaviour will increase their financial literacy.
Weyay – Kuwait’s first digital bank which was created in partnership for National Bank of Kuwait by R/GA – personifies the type of youth-centric bank that will thrive moving forward.
This modern, playful brand experience is redefining the country’s banking system. Signature brand movements and intuitive functionality drive progress, motivation, rewards and celebration – all key milestones through a users’ financial journey.
And it is these core features that have seen Weyay gain 20 per cent market share of 15-24 year olds within the first year. Beyond the app, the way Weyay engages with the next generation sets a new direction that challenges the way legacy institutions should communicate, look and act.
