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The success of the region's cards industry is reliant on consistently good service, according to Premal Patel, executive director, Veritas Group, organiser of the upcoming GCC Cards Summit 2010.
"The region's banking sector needs to pump up service delivery and up the ante on the value propositions aligned to card products as more and more customers are looking beyond a standard credit facility," he said.
Mr Patel suggested that the region's card industry is facing multiple challenges and said that many latent issues have been uncovered by the economic slowdown - the main driver in shifting spending patterns, especially among the large expat population.
"The future of cards is in question. Of course the sector will survive, but in what shape - this is the burning question. Indeed, the opportunity now is for change, and change for the better.
"This change is being driven by a simple truth, service differentiation. This is the way forward for cards in the region," he stressed.
He said that as basic as it may sound, the cards industry must get to grips with the needs of consumer, both individual and corporate.
"A good place to start is by opening dialogue with existing customers, listen to what is troubling them, and ask what they feel they need in the new marketplace that is fast emerging."
Mr Patel is the weight behind the second GCC Cards Summit, which was successfully held last year.
He said that this year's summit will bring more than 20 industry speakers to one common platform to discuss, debate and share new-world strategies for customer service delivery, product innovation and bottom-line management.
The summit has already gathered support from a number of regional and international organisations, including the Bahrain Association for Banks (BAB) - the summit's associate partner - and Arab Financial Services (AFS).
BAB's Robert Ainey concurred that service is indeed king: "The only factor that will distinguish the winners in the cards market is the focus on service quality.
"Retail banking in the Middle East needs to make the transition from offering identical products - the same current account, the same savings account, the same set of card products, the same consumer loan processing, and so on.
"They must want to be a service-oriented organisation, and this requires a radical shift in the mind-set of the way business and process are managed. The winners in the cards market will be those who focus on what today's customers need, and not what the bank wants."
The GCC Card Summit 2010 will be held at the Mšvenpick Hotel Bahrain from November 1-3.
