Banking Innovation and Fintech in the UAE

Reflections from the Khaleej Times Summit
by Alice Weightman, CEO and Head of MENA for Hanson Search

I recently attended the Khaleej Times Banking Innovation and Technology Summit, where industry leaders discussed the current state of the regional banking and fintech sectors. While much of the global sector faces significant challenges, the UAE continues to stand out as a high-performing, fast-maturing ecosystem with immense potential for innovation. Below are the key takeaways that resonated most strongly, particularly from a UAE perspective. Some interesting insights came from Sarag Shah, Associate Partner at McKinsey, who shared findings from a recent report on the state of the banking and fintech market.

The UAE Remains One of the Strongest Banking Markets Globally

The banking sector continues to be the world’s largest generator of net income, surpassing even technology and telecoms. However, globally, banks are grappling with low valuations and growing investor scepticism. The Middle East, in contrast, stands apart. Banks in the region continue to deliver some of the highest performance metrics worldwide, including:

• Return on Sales consistently above 15 percent
• Cost-to-income ratios in some markets below 30 percent
• A stable, resilient customer base and strong profitability

European banks would love to operate with these numbers. Despite this strength, the environment is changing rapidly, and traditional levers like digitisation, price competition, community presence, and the one-stop-shop model will no longer suffice. With the advent of AI, tokenisation, new consumer behaviours, and increased competition from big tech and neo-banks, the region’s banks will need precise, strategic reinvention.

A Maturing Fintech Landscape with Real Scale on the Horizon

One of the most compelling insights was the strength of the fintech market in the UAE and MENA compared to other emerging markets. While global funding has slowed since the peak of 2021, MENA remains the only emerging market still seeing growth in fintech funding. Yet, the real opportunity lies in penetration. Globally, fintechs capture between five and six percent of the financial services revenue pool, but in MENA, this figure is only two percent. Closing this gap represents a multi-billion-dollar opportunity.

What is particularly encouraging is the speed at which the ecosystem has matured:

• One in three fintechs interviewed is already profitable, a radical shift from just a few years ago when profitability seemed distant.
• Investors and founders expect three to five new regional unicorns by 2028.
• Fintech has become the top priority sector for global VCs active in the region.

The market remains concentrated in neo-banking, payments, and retail lending, but migration toward wealth management, infrastructure, and operational services is already underway, mirroring the evolution seen in more mature ecosystems such as Europe and Southeast Asia.

Open Finance Frameworks Will Reshape Competition

The UAE and Saudi Arabia are decisively moving forward on open banking and open finance frameworks. While global results have been mixed, the regulatory environment in the GCC is more coordinated, better resourced, and backed by a level of data infrastructure that can accelerate real adoption.

Sarag Shah was clear that these frameworks will become key drivers for future growth, enabling:

• Stronger data availability
• More accurate credit and risk modelling
• A new generation of personalised financial products
• Greater collaboration between banks and fintechs

In addition to regulation, three further forces will influence the next stage of regional growth:

• AI adoption, which remains less mature than expected among regional fintechs
• Consolidation across subsectors, with multiple players chasing the same ideas
• Bank-fintech partnerships evolving from pilots to multi-million-dollar revenue streams

Although partnerships are in place, few have reached meaningful commercial scale. Lending, in particular, remains complex due to questions around customer ownership and risk allocation. The first major partnership breakthrough will set the tone for the entire region.

What This Means for Talent in the UAE: Reflections from a Headhunter

As someone deeply embedded in executive search across banking, fintech, and financial services, several implications stand out clearly:

• Demand for AI, data, and risk talent will outpace supply
  If fintech leaders rate AI maturity as their weakest area, this signals a major capability gap. Banks and fintechs will compete fiercely for talent in data science, machine learning, behavioural modelling, digital identity, and cybersecurity. These roles will underpin strategy, valuation, and investor confidence.
• Banks will hire differently as they shift away from legacy models
  The need for precise strategic reinvention means banks will prioritise talent that can build or redesign business models, rather than simply digitise existing ones. High-demand skills include:
  • Embedded finance strategy
  • Hyperpersonalisation and customer analytics
  • Digital operating model design
  • Private capital and wealth innovation
  • New market expansion

Leadership teams are already recognising that this next phase requires a different profile of executive.

• Fintechs will scale fast and require globally competitive talent
  With profitability rising and the likelihood of three to five new unicorns by 2028, fintechs will need experienced operators capable of guiding companies through scale-up and international expansion. The UAE will attract global candidates at VP and C-suite levels as more companies raise larger rounds and look outward.
• More movement between banks, fintechs, and tech firms
  The lines between incumbent and challenger will blur. Executives with hybrid experience—traditional banking credibility combined with digital fluency—will be the most sought-after talent category in the region.
• Talent mobility into the UAE will accelerate
  The UAE is already attracting world-class professionals due to its regulatory stability, economic growth, and quality of life. As financial services and fintech sectors grow faster than local talent can be developed, international hiring will become even more essential.

Final Thoughts

The Banking Innovation and Technology Summit highlighted something that many of us in the industry already feel: the UAE is entering one of the most exciting periods of transformation the sector has ever seen. Our banking system is high-performing, our fintech ecosystem is maturing at remarkable speed, and regulatory ambition is accelerating innovation rather than stalling it. For those of us in talent, this moment presents both opportunity and responsibility. The next three to five years will define who leads, who scales, and who sets the benchmark for financial innovation in the region. Ensuring the right leadership and expertise is in place will be crucial to shaping the UAE’s financial future.

Whether you’re hiring top talents or considering your next career move, our team would be delighted to support you.

Alice Weightman, is CEO and Head of MENA for Hanson Search.

Hanson Search is a globally recognised, award-winning talent advisory and headhunting consultancy. Our expertise lies in building successful ventures worldwide through our recruitment, interim and executive search in communications, sustainability, financial communications, public affairs and policy, digital marketing and sales.