UAE digital lender Wio Bank bets on payments, wealth to power next growth phase

ABU DHABI (Reuters) - UAE's Wio Bank is looking to payments and wealth to drive the next leg of its growth, CEO Jayesh Patel said on Wednesday, as the state-backed digital bank positions itself to capitalize on the country's economic boom.

The Abu Dhabi-based company, launched in 2022, has benefited from an influx of new money into the Gulf country owing to factors such as the ease of doing business and light-touch regulation.

The UAE's economy is expected to have grown 4.9% this year, driven by higher oil production and expansion in sectors such as logistics and tourism following government investment, according to a central bank forecast in September.

Wio plans to launch a payments company next year to make "things seamless for our customers", Patel told Reuters on the sidelines of a finance event in Abu Dhabi, adding it is also focusing on ways to help wealthy clients "manage their long-term money better".

Wio now has more than 250,000 retail customers and more than 120,000 business clients, including firms from the UK and China, Patel said, up from 140,000 and 90,000, respectively at the end of 2024.

"I think we would be able to add at least a third more to our (retail customer) base next year because we are scaling a lot," he said.

Asked whether the bank had plans to expand into other Gulf countries, Patel said he sees Wio focusing on the UAE for the next year.

"Banking doesn't cross borders easily. It takes a lot of effort. And we want to make sure whatever we do is not at the cost of the momentum and the potential we have here."

While the company is looking at M&A opportunities, it has enough liquidity to fund its upcoming projects, he said.