Finastra Saudi Arabia Banking Forum Highlights AI Innovation

Finastra brought together regulators, banks, fintechs, and technology leaders at the Saudi Arabia banking forum in Riyadh to examine how the Kingdom’s financial sector can accelerate innovation while maintaining trust and resilience under Vision 2030. The global financial services software leader hosted the Reimagine Banking Forum on December 12, 2025, featuring insights from regional and global experts.

Industry Leaders Address Banking Innovation Challenges

The forum featured perspectives from Rudy Kawmi, Vice President for Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, Universal Banking at Finastra, alongside senior leaders including Abdulkarim Alsowaygh, Head of Advisory Services at TechArch, and Aymen Belhedi, Digital and Technology Transformation Leader at KPMG Middle East.

Finastra highlighted its decades of experience supporting Saudi banks since the early 1990s through local expertise and established relationships. The company showcased its modern core platform Essence, which supports agility, compliance and customer-centric design. Finastra Essence was recognized as a Leader for the second consecutive time in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Retail Core Banking Systems, Europe.

Key Insights from Saudi Arabia Banking Forum Sessions

Three panel discussions explored critical topics: “Banking Today: Delivering delight in a hyper competitive world,” “Banking Tomorrow: Innovation, agility and relevance,” and “Practical AI: Leveraging AI for profit, safely and securely.” Speakers shared practical strategies to balance regulatory expectations, customer needs, and technology adoption.

Innovation anchored in trust and compliance: Panelists emphasized that cybersecurity, regulatory alignment and security maturity are non-negotiable foundations for banking innovation
Precision banking over product proliferation: Banks must evolve from traditional service providers into lifestyle platforms that integrate payments, credit and everyday services
Ecosystem orchestration: Banks acting as ecosystem orchestrators, partnering with fintechs while owning the “trust layer,” can deliver new propositions more quickly
Data-driven intelligence: Converting trusted data into actionable intelligence through AI enables proactive, personalized customer engagement

Saudi Arabia is setting a high bar for responsible innovation by combining a progressive regulator, a clear national agenda and banks that are re-architecting for trust, speed and inclusion.

AI Implementation Requires Ethical Framework and Human Oversight

The AI discussion focused heavily on ethics, explainability and human oversight. Panelists warned against black-box systems in areas such as credit decisions and collections, where AI outcomes directly affect people’s lives. They emphasized keeping humans accountable for final decisions while using AI to automate repetitive tasks and accelerate analysis.

While technology to support next-generation services is available, speakers noted that adoption timelines vary. The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) supports controlled innovation through initiatives like API-driven banking frameworks and the Regulatory Sandbox, enabling experimentation while protecting consumers and financial stability. The future belongs to institutions that innovate boldly, design for resilience, and earn customer trust daily.