Data issued by the Central Bank revealed yesterday that the national banks accelerated the transition towards smart services during the first quarter of this year, as the number of their branches decreased by 16, while all (national and foreign) banks closed 139 ATMs.
The Financial and Banking Developments Report for the first quarter of 2020, issued by the Central Bank, indicated that the number of branches of national banks decreased by the end of last March to 640, compared to 656 branches at the end of last year, a decrease of 16 branches during a period of three months.
The report added that the number of ATMs nationwide registered 4,937 at the end of last March, compared to 5,076 at the end of last December, down 139.
In his report, Al-Markazi attributed the reason behind this to the technological and structural developments in the UAE financial sector, which led to increased access to mobile banking and online banking services.
To that, the banking expert, Amjad Nasr, said that «the spread of the Corona virus has no doubt affected the number of branches that banks need, as well as ATMs, and this can be revealed accurately during the second quarter of this year, but there are basic factors that make there Continuity in the reduction, which is accelerating the digital and smart transformation in the banking sector, to keep pace with the state’s plan. ”
Nasr indicated that the banks reduce their expenses in branches and ATMs, so that the return of this shifted to providing more smart services via phones and through the Internet, pointing to the completion of the process of Dubai Islamic Bank's acquisition of Noor Bank, as this was accompanied by the closure of branches and unification of ATMs.
Nasr expected that the spread of the Corona virus will contribute to dependence on smart services at a faster rate than previously planned, in addition to the success of remote work, which means that there is no need for a large and widespread branch network, and a limited number in every emirate through which transactions are completed Which necessitates the necessity of visiting the branch.