Beyond the buzzwords:
How Wio Bank PJCS is hardwiring customer-centricity into the core
How Wio Bank PJCS is hardwiring customer-centricity into the core
30 October 2025
At the 2025 Money20/20 Middle East, the conversation shifted from the theoretical "future of banking" to the practical "how-to" of digital transformation. FF News engaged two of the voices that stood out: Jayesh Patel, CEO of Wio Bank PJCS, and Harjit Kang, Mambu’s Commercial Director for MEA.
In a region defined by rapid growth and shifting regulations, their shared conclusion was clear: "customer-centricity" is no longer a marketing slogan—it is a technical requirement.
Wio Bank PJSC leverages Mambu for customer-centric banking
With Jayesh Patel, CEO, Wio Bank PJCS
The UAEs digital banking sector is evolving fast. What do you think sets Wio apart from other players in the region?
For too long, customers have got things that they probably didn't want. And I think if we look at the way Wio is structured, we are super focused on our customer. That's why our tagline is ‘Born to Back You’. Everything we do is to back our customers—our products, our pricing, our partnership.
I think what is different is we are incredibly paranoid about serving our customers. We have this principle in the bank: we want to make money when our customers make money. We don't want to make money when our customers make mistakes. I think the mindset and the focus on making our customers win is what differentiates us.
Wio went to market very quickly and maintained a steady peace of innovation ever since. What were the key enablers that allowed you to move fast?
One, we have fantastic shareholders, so that does help. The second thing is, I think our biggest asset is our team. We have a phenomenal set of people from 47 countries who have come and joined Wio to build something that helps customers, makes them succeed. So that has been a great asset. I think the other big change on the technology side is we are a very OPEC-centric business, so we use a lot of Software-as-a-Service, we’re on the cloud. I think all these capabilities allow you to build better offerings for customers faster, and then change them when customers' needs change.
Many digital banks struggle to scale profitably yet, Wio Bank is three years old and is showing speed in growth that outstrips some global players. How has Wio Bank managed to maintain sustainable growth while continuing to innovate?
We are a business at the end of the day. We want to make sure we are profitable, so we are very focused on the customer segments we want to follow on. One of the best things I heard from one of the CEOs is his hardest is to say “No” to a lot of great ideas and focus on what the business is supposed to do. So at Wio we started off focusing on SMEs. We met a hundred SMEs to understand the pain point and we were very clear about what to build. Then we went to the individuals, and again very focused on building the products they need, getting them the enablement and the help they need to grow their money.
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