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A former Tandem Bank CTO is launching a neobank in Dubai

A team of UK expats that includes the former Chief Technology Officer at Tandem Bank has launched a new digital-only bank in Dubai.

Neobank Clearly officially launched on Wednesday in the emirate, and like many of its digital-only compatriots will offer super-quick account openings to customers in under two minutes on their smartphones and tablets once it has fully launched.

The new bank has drawn inspiration from the neobanking model pioneered by new entrants in the UK, Europe and the US, including homegrown challengers such as Monzo, Atom Bank and Starling Bank.

Fellow London-based neobank Tandem has likely provided the biggest inspiration, with the startup’s former CTO James Greenwood sitting on Clearly’s senior management team, alongside former Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank executive Mike Cunningham and Fara Remtulla.

Greenwood overseen the IT infrastructure at Tandem in the run up to its official launch in 2015 for which he was recognised as ‘Rising Star Banker of the Year 2015’ by Retail Banker International.

Tandem’s fortunes have flagged somewhat in the interim, however, with the unfortunate collapse of funding from House of Fraser earlier this year forcing the bank to cut jobs and reposition itself.

Targeting the United Arab Emirates market, the bank has said that the Gulf state offers a fertile market to launch into thanks to its digital infrastructure and the Dubai government’s ambition for country to be cashless by 2020, not to mention the high levels of smartphone penetration among its population.

Chief Executive Officer, Mike Cunningham, described the UAE as one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, but that the market still lacked a bank that met current consumer habits and expectations.

He said: “Retail banking in the UAE has seen tremendous progress in the last decade, however there continues to be an opportunity to deliver a truly integrated digital banking proposition that genuinely meets the changing needs of customers.

“CLEARLY is re-defining banking in the Middle East putting the customer in the driving seat and changing the way people bank so profoundly they will never want to go back to the old way of banking again.”

Potential customers can register now for the opportunity to take part in closed-door testing and early access.

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