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LuLu Financial Holdings sets sights on becoming a full-fledged fintech enabler

The UAE based financial services conglomerate will be channeling digital investments in 2022, to enable new fintechs to tap into its proven infrastructure and provide a range of financial services

Adeeb-Ahamed
Adeeb Ahamed, Managing Director of Lulu Financial Holdings.

With fintech expected to be the hottest thing in the market for the next decade and more, Adeeb Ahamed of LuLu Financial Holdings – which holds investments in finserv and fintech propositions across 11 countries, has said the company will fast-track its digital transition in 2022, with a special focus on positioning itself as a plug ‘n play enabler for fintech companies.

“For an industry that is looking to grow through meaningful linkages, we will be ramping up our digital infrastructure in a way that allows easy integration with partners, while also enabling new fintechs to enter the space through a proprietary plug and play model that brings payments and value-added financial services such as remittance, insurance, bill payments, ticketing etc., under one roof.”

The Abu Dhabi-based holding company, which operates a network of more than 240 branches and several integrated digital payments solutions across the Middle East, Indian sub-continent and APAC regions, has further outlined its ambition to open over 20 new branches globally in 2022, and ramp up its IT and compliance systems to meet the turnaround time of 15 seconds or less for transactions made to its major corridors that serve 80 percent of its consumers.

The company has started the transition of its physical branches into consumer engagement centres, which can operate in a hybrid format while focusing on onboarding and alleviation of consumer stress points while availing its various offerings.

“Our branches, of which 83 are located in the UAE, will soon be installed with digital kiosks where consumers can conduct their cross-border payments through an automated teller machine. The pilot for the same will be launched in Q1 2022 and should cover a major section of our network by end of the year,” he added.

New markets

Talking about the strengthening of key corridors in 2021 through crucial partnerships with global payments providers, Ahamed said that collaboration is the only way forward to create meaningful financial inclusion, as the payments sector in itself is quite vast to be serviced by just a handful of dominant players.

“The company will be entering into strategic partnerships to solidify outward remittances to countries in Africa, Europe, APAC and MENA regions. With the upgraded launch of LuLu Money in 2021, and the gradual rollout of eKYC facility in more of our key markets in 2022, we are quite bullish about the impact we can have on the global payments ecosystem,” he added.

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Abdul Rawuf

Abdul Rawuf