Branch Without a Branch: G+D Self-Service Kiosks and the Future of Banking in Saudi Arabia

Quick Summary

For G+D, the future of payments in Saudi Arabia goes beyond the card itself. Bassel El Sabban describes the G+D self-service kiosk, which the company calls a "branch without a branch", where a customer can complete onboarding, KYC and account opening, receive an instantly personalised payment card and carry out most everyday branch operations from a single machine.

Why does the future go beyond the payment card?

Speaking to FF News host Ian Horne about the next generation of payments in the Kingdom, Bassel El Sabban, Regional Sales Manager for Saudi Arabia at G+D, argues that the card is only one part of the story. "For me, the future goes beyond the card itself. It's about the complete banking experience," he says. Premium materials and instant issuance matter, but the bigger shift is in how and where customers access their bank in the first place, and how quickly they can move from sign-up to spending.

What can a customer do at a G+D self-service kiosk?

El Sabban asks viewers to imagine a bank customer walking up to a G+D kiosk and completing everything they would normally do inside a branch. The branch without a branch concept brings the full onboarding journey and a range of day-to-day services into one self-service point, including:

• Complete onboarding and KYC.
• Opening a bank account on the spot.
• Immediately receiving an instantly personalised payment card.
• Depositing cash.
• Issuing statements of account and a chequebook.

"The complete operations of a branch can be done with our self-service kiosk," he says. For issuers, that means extending physical reach without the cost of opening new branches.

What excites G+D about the Saudi market?

El Sabban says Saudi Arabia is a market that is moving really fast while making the banking experience more personal, more premium, more sustainable, more secure and more relevant to the local market. For G+D, the opportunity is not simply to follow that transformation but to help shape it together with Saudi banks and regulators. "Ultimately, the next generation of payments will be defined by the experiences we are creating," he concludes.

FF NEWS TAKE:

The kiosk is the logical end point of the argument G+D has been making throughout this Virtual Arena: if an account can be opened in minutes, the card and the services around it must keep pace. A branch without a branch is a practical answer for a Kingdom with high digital adoption but a strong attachment to physical cards. The test will be how many Saudi issuers treat kiosks as a core channel rather than a pilot.