Throughout its history, Mashreq has actively engaged in technological innovation and adoption. Over the past five years and long before the pandemic, Mashreq has embarked on a root-and-branch digital transformation with automation at its heart. This core digital imperative has delivered exceptional efficiencies for the Bank and an unparalleled customer experience. Mashreq’s automation journey has delivered results across the business and through multiple metrics. A great example includes Mashreq’s payments team, which serviced four times the number of customer requests in 2022, with 60% fewer personnel than in 2017. Realizing these critical objectives required the development and implementation of a multipronged five-year strategy supported by an inhouse team for each stream of activity, a range of data-oriented projects and deep collaboration with innovators and business partners.
During the five-year period, Mashreq’s handpicked digital experts have worked with operational SMEs, technology vendors, business partners, and digital champions – all focused on generating transformative digital solutions. These have incorporated a range of automation platforms that have allowed Mashreq to digitize – and personalize – every aspect of its operations, including remittances, cheques, charges, onboarding, and interbank SWIFT communication. Fundamental to this journey has been the nurturing of a long-term strategic partnership with the AI, machine learning, robotics, and automation firm, Patterns Cognitive.
Throughout an initial – and highly successful – 18-month partnership, Mashreq has worked with Patterns to build a unique automation platform called ‘Dexter’, which now
automatically processes over 80% of the cheque straight-through-processing (STP). Since Dexter’s development, Mashreq continued working with Patterns to ‘train’ and fine-tune the platform to do more complex work. Dexter has not only established Mashreq’s machine-learning capabilities but has also been adopted by multiple Mashreq partners including other financial institutions.
Working with the Patterns team and its visionary Managing Director, Suresh Kamath – Patterns has become a fundamental collaborator and innovator that everybody at Mashreq HQ recognizes and values. Suresh and his team of dynamic and highly skilled digital inventors have gone on to work handin-glove with Mashreq’s internal innovators to develop a range of other digital platforms. They include Braavos – our charge collection platform; Sherlock – our intelligent interbank swift communication case manager; and Quark, which automates the processing of manual fund transfer forms.
As we look ahead to our continued role as a digital challenger bank, the Mashreq team looks forward to developing many more unimaginable platforms with Patterns so that we can continue to fulfil what everybody at Mashreq believes in – Rise Every Day!
My sincere thanks to the amazingly talented teams at Mashreq and Patterns that makes such wonderful work possible through this partnership.
