Varo Money Selects Temenos’ Digital Banking Platform to Launch New Bank in the United States
Varo aims to be one of the first national mobile-only banks in American history
GENEVA, Switzerland – September 12, 2018 – Temenos (SIX: TEMN), the banking software company, today announced that mobile banking company, Varo Money Inc., has signed for T24 Core Banking as well as the Lifecycle Management Suitewhich will be implemented on the Temenos Cloud. Varo Money provides mobile banking services, paired with financial health tools, to help improve the financial lives of consumers.
In a recent Economist Intelligence Unit report conducted for Temenos, 58% of retail bank executives said that changing customer behavior and demands would have the biggest impact in the future. The front-end and services offered by Varo directly address developing consumer needs, enabling users to easily regulate cash flow, track spending, and manage everyday banking.
In July 2017, Varo applied for its own banking charter. On September 4, 2018, Varo announced preliminary approval of its application for a national bank charter by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The move to become a fully licensed national bank will allow Varo to directly meet all of their customers’ needs, instead of relying on a partner bank. With its banking charter, Varo will move to build more of a platform experience and provide an end-to-end, frictionless, customer-centric platform for banking customers.
The project with Temenos will include implementing T24 Core Banking, as well as the Lifecycle Management Suite to support account holder relationships from origination through servicing. The combination will streamline Varo’s operations, support its strategy to expand its product and services, and provide a seamless, real-time customer experience across product lines and delivery channels.
Empowered by a platform that provides rapid speed-to-market for new products and services, Varo will roll out an expanded line of retail banking products over time. Varo currently offers demand deposit accounts, high-interest savings accounts, and personal loans. In the future, Varo may offer a full range of banking products including certificates of deposit, credit cards, and home loans. The Temenos U.S. model bank approach will help Varo meet the unique business and regulatory needs of the market in an efficient and cost-effective way. With the platform on the cloud, Varo will be positioned to scale as the bank grows. Varo will also work with Temenos to create its own open banking environment with Temenos’ open and flexible technology. Temenos customers capitalize on the open architecture to easily integrate to third-party partners, as well as fintech providers in Temenos’ self-service digital store, Temenos MarketPlace.
Colin Walsh, CEO & Co-Founder, Varo Money, commented:
“The next generation of consumers are looking for more affordable solutions that are technology driven. Solutions that let them solve everyday banking problems with a few taps of the phone. The ability to deliver on those expectations and empower the everyday consumer to take control of their finances is what sets Varo apart from the incumbent banks in the industry. When looking for a core banking platform, we weren’t just looking for a vendor and a system, we wanted a provider that would truly partner with us in order to achieve our vision. They needed to show that they continually invested in the platform, and that they would provide the cutting-edge technology to support our current product set and long-term growth strategy. Temenos was able to demonstrate that they had the commitment and world-class technology to support a strategy that was customer-centric instead of product-centric, and deliver on the real-time, omni-channel experience we are crafting for our customers.”
Emily Steele, President – North America, Temenos, stated:
“We are seeing exciting developments in the United States as the banking industry explores what it means to bank in a digital world. Incumbent banks are setting up digital banks alongside their own operations, and now we are starting to see fintechs moving to become banks themselves. We are delighted to partner with Varo on this ground-breaking venture, and leverage our company’s 25 years of expertise and industry-leading technology to fulfill Varo’s vision of creating the bank of the future. By building its new bank on a modern, open, digital banking platform that provides 24/7, real-time, straight through processing, Varo is positioning itself to provide the personalized, seamless experience consumers are looking for today.”
Temenos Press Contacts
Scott Rowe
Temenos Global Public Relations
+44 20 7423 3857 [email protected]Gabriel Goonetillake
Edelman Smithfield for Temenos
Tel: +44 7813 407710 [email protected]