Global tech giant Huawei has stressed the importance of adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Moroccan banks and financial institutions, highlighting the potential of the new technology to revolutionize the financial sector and improve operational efficiency and customer experience.
Speaking with Morocco World News on Tuesday, Regional CTO for Financial Service Industry at Huawei North Africa El Mehdi El Jair said that “AI is a fundamental technology that needs to be adopted by Moroccan financial institutions.”
El Jair made the remarks on the sidelines of the second edition of the Huawei Intelligent Finance Summit (HIFS), which took place today in Casablanca. The event convened “major actors” from Morocco’s financial industry to share the latest trends in the sector, with a focus on the use and adoption of new technologies, El Jair said.
The central message behind the event is to “push financial institutions to go toward Bank 4.0,” El Jair stressed. He explained that Bank 4.0 “welds ecosystems and uses emergent technologies like blockchain, hybrid cloud, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and mobile technologies to innovate, create new financial services, and distribute them through ecosystems.”
AI disruption
Describing AI as an emerging technology, El Jair highlighted its potential to transform industries and create advancements and benefits in many sectors. However, he noted that it is also considered a “disruptive” technology, particularly with the recent developments of ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot.
“We all saw how ChatGPT disrupted our world and how it disrupted our way of living,” he said, stressing that AI has the power to disrupt the financial industry in many ways.
Regional CTO for Financial Service Industry at Huawei North Africa El Mehdi El Jair speaking at the event
For instance, AI could impact “how we innovate and create new financial services and products,” as well as the way banks run, El Jair said. In this regard, he highlighted the various AI solutions Huawei offers, tailored specifically for financial institutions.
He gave the example of the “robotic and intelligent infrastructures,” an AI-powered tool that Huawei uses in the banking industry. The tool leverages advanced technologies such as machine learning to address specific challenges that institutions might face.
In addition, El Jair underlined AI’s role in improving customer service and experience, such as providing personalized recommendations and increasing customer satisfaction.
Are Moroccans ready for AI?
El Jair additionally expressed opposition to the idea of AI being scary or taking over people’s jobs, arguing that Moroccans are ready for the shift to the new technology.
The expected adoption of AI across many sectors has raised concerns among people, including in Morocco, who fear that the new technology would replace them and take their jobs.
“We should not embrace this mentality,” El Jair said, stressing that the world should accept and “adopt” these new technologies. He called for a broader perspective when evaluating the impact of AI.
Attendees at the summit
El Jair expects AI technologies to expand to Morocco, arguing that we should welcome it with a positive attitude of openness and willingness to learn how to adapt those technologies to the Moroccan context.
He argued that AI could help Moroccan banks and financial institutions reduce their costs amid low profitability and high operational costs, as well as open up to new business models.
“AI is a fundamental technology that needs to be adopted by Moroccan financial institutions,” he said, stressing that Moroccans are “ready” for the shift.
He expressed hope that Moroccan financial institutions will follow in the footsteps of the broader trend of digital transformation in the sector.
“We need our institutions to also invest in those technologies and adapt them to the Moroccan customer,” he concluded.
Huawei’s Vice President of Cloud & AI in Africa Mounir Soussi said that the Moroccan financial sector is “mature” compared to other African countries. He added that the sector is “very secure,” highlighting its “strict” regulatory framework.
Huawei’s Vice President of Cloud & AI in Africa Mounir Soussi speaking at the summit
Soussi indicated that the event was an opportunity to discuss various key topics, including intelligent infrastructure, cloud, and Super App – a mobile application that provides users with a wide range of functions. The summit focused on how Super App can drive digital transformation within the banking sector.
During the event, the Chinese technology giant revealed data on the use of online transactions among its customers and partners, with Soussi saying that customers aged less than 30 carried out 46% of their transactions online.
He celebrated the changing trends in customer behavior, stressing that the Super App is “at the center of this transformation.”
Security among Huawei’s top priorities
Soussi expects the trend to extend to other areas beyond the financial industry, such as healthcare, fitness, and online shopping, paving the way for Super App to become even more present in banking 4.0.
When asked about potential security risks associated with using Huawei’s Super Apps, Soussi stressed that protecting customer data is at the heart of the company’s concerns.
Ensuring personal data protection “is in our DNA … it is in our way of developing products,” he emphasized, adding that Huawei shares the “best practices” with their customers to protect their assets, infrastructure, and cloud.
Organized under the theme “Unleash Digital, Non-stop Banking. Create New Value TOGETHER,” the 2023 Huawei Intelligent Finance Summit is driven by the company’s “ambition to promote and stimulate the evolution of intelligent finance,” indicated the organizers in a press release.
The second edition of the Huawei Intelligent Finance Summit
Commenting on the event, Huawei Morocco’s General Manager Jerry Cui highlighted the telecommunications company as a “strategic partner in the digital transformation of the financial sector.”
“With its expertise and latest innovations, Huawei is committed to accelerating the smart and inclusive transformation of financial services and forging an open ecosystem of smart banking services integrating finance with technology,” he added.
For his part, Huawei Morocco Sales Director Youness Qarmiche celebrated the company’s position as a “major partner in the digital transformation of the financial sector, an area of growing importance, offering comprehensive infrastructure, digital platform, and cloud solutions to support Non-Stop Banking.”
In addition, he highlighted the company’s cutting-edge solutions that help banks improve their digital operations, cybersecurity, and customer experience, as well as contribute to the overall digital transformation.
The event included in-depth training sessions, case studies, and panel discussions that promoted collaboration and sharing of expertise among experts in the sector.
