BPC Banking Technologies, the leading provider of Open System payment solutions, will address the latest demands and challenges of the Middle East’s payments industry at the upcoming Cards & Payments ME event – an annual showcase dedicated to the business of payments and the smart cards market, and set to roll out this year over May 12 and 13 at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). The 2015 edition comes on the back of the UAE’s Minister of Economy estimating the value of the nation’s e-commerce market to swell to USD 5 billion (AED 18.35 billion) by the end of this year. Consequently, the demand for seamless, yet highly secure payment solutions is at an all-time high in the region.
“The growth of e-commerce is one of the major markers of payments made by Generation Y. Billions of dollars have been spent over the last 30 years or so to bring payment systems up-to-date and to align them with the demands of the latest batch of users, but the goal has always been the same: increasing ease of use, while decreasing risk,” said Oleg Patsiansky, Senior Business Consultant at BPC.
Unsurprisingly, another aspect characterising payments today is an increased incidence of fraud: as per a report published by research firm Aite Group last year, the UAE sees the highest rate of card fraud anywhere in the world at 44%.
Commenting on this, Angelo Bertini, Senior Vice President and Managing Director for Middle East and North Africa at BPC said: “Existing systems have been developed to handle separate regulatory regimes, cultural expectations and technological standards, and most importantly, to handle the security threats that have emerged in the last few years. This is imperative, given that reducing incidence of fraud increases customer confidence in their banks.”
Patsiansky will be chairing a round table discussion on ‘revamping legacy payments to keep up with Generation Y’ on day two of Cards & Payments ME to throw light on emerging trends in the region’s payments industry, and solutions customised specifically to meet the demands generated by these trends. Additionally, BPC will be presenting on maximising revenues from a customer base via personalised advertising through various channels including ATM, mobile devices and the Internet.
BPC will also be showcasing its latest solutions at the event. The payment solutions provider currently boasts an impressive portfolio of clients in the MENA region, with four countries availing its national payment systems – essentially, BPC’s SmartVista solution will soon form a completely new payments infrastructure for these four countries.