CAIRO: There is a pressing need to spread awareness and educate Egyptian bank users, who have a lot of "distrust towards remote communication, said Mansour Guneidy, chairman of Market Insight during a panel discussion at the Euromoney Egypt conference Tuesday. "People are very hesitant about using anything which has to do with telephone banking or internet banking, Guniedy said. A culture of placing money under the floor tile and an overly simplistic understanding of the role of banks are partly to blame for why many Egyptians prefer to stay away from banks, he said. A group of panelists examined the ever-changing dimensions of the Egyptian banking industry and the underlying potential within the Egyptian financial sector during the workshop on retail banking. Moderated by Rania El Hinnawi, the head of marketing at Credit Agricole Egypt, the workshop addressed key issues like Egypt's niche markets and retail banking strategies. According to Hinnawi 17-20 percent of customers change banks every year, as "they are tempted by different products that they like. Other reasons include pricing, on emotional factors or a response to a good advertising campaign. Entitled "Retail banking: Managment of change in a competitive market, the workshop also featured Jean-Francoise Benazet, head of retail banking at Credit Agricole and Michele Zanatta, Credit Agricole's head of commercial banking. Panelists debated which banking approach would be more feasible in Egypt's case: French or British. The British approach is one where customer loyalty is based on convenience, while the French , according to Zanatta, is based on providing the customer with a more diverse basket of services, decreasing their chances of transferring to another bank. Socio-cultural dynamics that have a tangible effect on marketing also determine a bank's level of success. "Religious fundamentalism, individualism, double standards, aspiration towards power, these are all mega trends that are taking place in the world as a whole and according to the presented research these trends are also "reflected in Egyptian society, Guneidy said. On the phenomenon of financial pundits placing less emphasis on the concept of bank branches, Michele believes it is a central component of the market's structure. "What is a branch, a shop in the street? The fundamental component of the branch is the people, so it is a gathering of expertise. Despite the importance of technology people will always need advice from an expert, said Zanatta.
