The shifting sands of influence in fintech

I have just returned from a week in Dubai. I thought I knew Dubai well, but this time, I was given privileged access to some of its leaders and discovered a place even more focused on the future than I had previously realised.

Dubai has the ambition to be a leader in technologies such as AI, blockchain and the metaverse

It’s a place that, if it were a person, would be described as an entrepreneur (credit to Ronit Ghosh of Citi for this excellent analogy). If it were a bank, it would be a neobank. And so, Dubai has oodles of energy, which I find intoxicating.

When I reflect on my career, I think energy attracted me to the internet in the first place. I happened to be in the right place at the right time to have witnessed the birth of the Information Age and have been lucky to have a ring-side seat, watching as the internet has moved out of academia and a few geeks’ garages to be one of the most critical infrastructures on the planet.

I was drawn to the internet’s opportunities to change the world and make a difference, and I picked finance as my specialist subject early on. I was there at the very beginning as a few pioneering banks made their first tentative steps online. These companies could see the future and grabbed the opportunities they could see. And with those opportunities came energy and excitement.

London was the place that took centre stage in the fintech revolution—building on its dominance from a banking and finance perspective, the country was open for business, and numerous fintech start-ups chose it. It was the place to be at that intersection of finance and technology, and the energy was palpable. But gradually, it has wilted. Like a big old high-street bank, it has become hidebound by its legacy and legacy systems, and through a series of consequential upheavals, such as Brexit, it has gradually lost its vitality.

So, how did an undersized country next to Europe achieve this cherished position in the first place? Among other things, Britain understood the importance of being at the centre of the world (literally). In the 1800s, latitude was up for grabs, and Britain saw the opportunity it offered. At the International Meridian Conference in Washington, DC, in 1884, Greenwich was established as the Prime Meridian for the world, meaning zero degrees longitude was fixed at the Greenwich Royal Observatory, cementing the UK as the world’s middle. London became the world’s biggest and most important city from a trade and finance perspective.

Over time, it built systems and ways of doing things that became its banking system. This system was exported worldwide, and London used finance to exert its influence. That influence led to London becoming a global centre for finance, and building on this in the 2000s, it embraced technology and became the epicentre of the fintech world.

But it could not and did not last forever.

At some point, the leaders of Dubai saw the future and, like London in the 1800s, understood some of the seismic changes and decided it was time for a new centre of the world. Sitting between Africa and Asia, Dubai is ideally placed.

Building on its skills and experience, particularly in logistics, it set about becoming a hub. Dubai Airport is now one of the busiest airports in the world.

At some stage, and taking a leaf from Britain’s playbook, Dubai announced its objective of becoming a global financial hub.

However, it went further and determined that becoming a global hub for technology was essential. In early 2023, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, unveiled the Emirate’s new economic agenda called D33. D33 documents Dubai’s leadership aspiration for the future and includes the ambition to be a leader in technologies such as AI, blockchain and the metaverse.

I recently met with Dubai’s Minister for AI, H.E. Omar Sultan Al Olama. He talked about his role, which includes overseeing AI deployment across sectors to ensure societal benefits, advocating for international collaboration and regulation, particularly on cross-border issues like deepfakes, and providing strategic leadership to position the UAE as a global hub for AI innovation. It also includes transparent dialogues with partners and the international community to address progress, challenges and opportunities in responsible AI development.

As AI is a technology that cuts across all industries and sectors, having a dedicated minister allows for a holistic “orchestra” view to oversee AI deployment and ensure it benefits society as a whole rather than just individual verticals. The minister is there as a country-sized silo buster!

This silo-busting mentality was also evident when we talked to H.E. Dr Moza Suwaidan, CEO of Digital Applications and Platforms for Digital Dubai. She spoke of the horizontal approach that is being taken to ensure the best possible digital outcomes. With a digital identity at its heart, Digital Dubai ensures that all citizens can interact with the government efficiently. One of the initiatives she talked about was 0% bureaucracy.

Dubai’s approach is very joined-up, and it is buzzing.

This is not to say London is still not a fantastic place with huge influence and potential. But it lacks the pulsating energy it used to have. H.E. Dr Moza spoke of the excitement citizens feel about the future. And if you are an energy devotee like me, that excitement will likely turn your head.

To compete going forward, London should ask what it must do to re-energise and recapture that excitement because, without that, the party will move on permanently.

About the author

Dave Wallace is a user experience and marketing professional who has spent the last 30 years helping financial services companies design, launch and evolve digital customer experiences.

He is a passionate customer advocate and champion and a successful entrepreneur. 

Follow him on X at @davejvwallace and connect with him on LinkedIn.