At a Glance

• Two banks acquired and migrated to Temenos Core within accelerated timeframes under eight months

• Temenos Core upgraded twice, validated by 1,500+ automated test cases, with all legacy systems now fully decommissioned

• 85% of processes automated

• 6x increase in IT capacity and 10x increase in telecom throughput

• Fintech marketplace OneApp launched and awarded Bahrain’s ‘Best Digital Transformation Project’

• 50+ AI initiatives launched, backed by strong enterprise-wide data infrastructure

A Bank on the Move

Al Salam Bank is the largest bank in Bahrain, and its technology journey reflects a broader institutional transformation, shaped by strategic growth, operational discipline, and a clear ambition to remain future-ready.

This transformation was driven by a clear strategic intent: to remove structural technology constraints and enable the bank to grow more effectively, integrate acquisitions with greater precision, and respond more efficiently to evolving customer and market needs.

From operational automation to the integration of acquired institutions, Al Salam Bank has delivered a transformation that has been both strategic and disciplined, enabled by Temenos and driven by clear business priorities. The focus has not only been on what was implemented, but on how it was executed, with strong governance, controlled delivery, and clear alignment to long-term strategic priorities.

Removing Limits

Before the transformation, Al Salam Bank was operating within a more complex technology environment, characterized by siloed systems, slower project delivery, and limited integration pathways. “Innovation was being constrained by the structure of the legacy environment,” said Ahmed Buqais, Deputy Chief Technology Officer at Al Salam Bank. “It was becoming increasingly difficult to move at the speed the business and our customers required.”

In 2021/22, the Bank completed its first major upgrade of Temenos Core. This foundational shift paved the way for the next phase of the Bank’s strategic growth, including the successful acquisition of Ithmaar Bank’s consumer banking business. The full migration was completed in just seven months.

A second acquisition followed soon with former Kuwait Finance House Bahrain, where the full institution operation was migrated onto Temenos Core in only six months.

Unlike many banks that merge systems or run parallel platforms, Al Salam opted for a clean transfer. “We made a conscious decision to move into one strategic core environment rather than carry forward unnecessary complexity,” said Hemantha. “That gave us a cleaner, more efficient, and more scalable operating model.”

Core Banking – Upgraded and Future-Ready

In 2025, the Bank completed a second major upgrade of its Temenos Core environment, modernizing not just the software but the full infrastructure stack. The move included a transition to Temenos’ latest Java-based runtime (TAFJ), improving performance, enabling the rollout of the new Temenos browser interface, and preparing the bank for future growth.

To manage the complexity, the team invested heavily in quality assurance and testing. “We replaced hardware, restructured infrastructure, and ran more than 1,500 automated test cases to validate system performance,” Ahmed said. “That level of preparation gave us the confidence to go live without disruption, and we had zero post-upgrade issues.”

The program was delivered in collaboration with TTF and Al Salam Bank’s internal teams, combining specialist implementation support with strong in-house ownership throughout the process.

“We approached the upgrade with a clear focus on resilience, continuity, and long-term scalability,” said Hemantha Wijesinghe, Chief Technology Officer at Al Salam Bank. “The outcome has given us a stronger and more future-ready core environment.”

Keeping Customers Live During Migration

A defining feature of Al Salam Bank’s transformational approach was its ability to execute major migrations while maintaining continuity of services for customers. The team built an internal orchestration platform called Oxygen, which acted as a live transaction bridge during critical cutovers.

“Usually during a transformation, systems go down for long hours,” said Hemantha. “With Oxygen, we were able to maintain continuity and allow customers to continue transacting without any disruptions. This was significantly important in protecting both our service standards and customer trust.”

Oxygen has since become a strategic internal capability, demonstrating the Bank’s ability to engineer complex transformation solutions in-house rather than relying solely on vendors.

Built by the Bank, for the Bank

A significant share of Al Salam Bank’s transformation was delivered through internal capability, reflecting the Bank’s long-term investment in technology talent, platform knowledge, and delivery ownership.

“We have built strong in-house capability across architecture, testing, deployment, and service delivery,” said Mohammed Saleh, Head of IT Service Delivery. “From architecture to testing to deployment, we have built internal capability that gives us greater control, continuity and agility in how we deliver transformation.”

That internal capability is not only about speed, but also about long-term sustainability and institutional knowledge. “Our team has developed deep Temenos expertise over time,” said Hemantha. “Many of them have been part of this journey for years. We have grown our people alongside the evolution of the platform.”

This autonomy has led to measurable results: 85% of processes are now automated, a 10x increase in telecom throughput, a 6x increase in system capacity, and service uptime is now mostly at 99.9%. “We have eliminated all legacy systems in production,” said Hemantha. “It gives us simplicity, speed, and easier-to-manage operating environment.”

The bank’s operations are now fully paperless, with onboarding and card issuance reduced from five days to five minutes. “And we’ve done it all while staying fully compliant and ISO-certified,” he further added.

OneApp: A Fintech Marketplace

In January 2025, Al Salam Bank launched OneApp, a digital financial marketplace offering everything from microfinance to investments and non-banking services. While operating under distinct platform identity, OneApp is fully integrated with Temenos Core.

Built within Bahrain’s open banking infrastructure, OneApp connects banks across the Kingdom, offering a seamless and instant customer experience.

“If someone needs financing, they apply in the app and receive funds instantly,” said Ahmed. “No paperwork, no employee intervention. And the financing is registered directly in Temenos.”

Beyond customer experience, OneApp represents a scalable monetization model, positioning Al Salam Bank beyond traditional banking by enabling ecosystem partnerships, fee-based services, and platform-led growth without increasing operational complexity.

In 2025, OneApp was recognized at Bahrain’s eGovernment Excellence Award for Best Digital Transformation, reflecting the platform’s measurable impact on financial inclusion, customer experience, and ecosystem collaboration.

A Partner and Enabler

For Al Salam Bank, Temenos is not viewed simply as just software, but as a key enabler of its strategic execution.

Daily transaction volumes average around 400,000, but the Bank regularly peaks at 1 million transactions per day, all handled smoothly by Temenos Core.

“The core system is robust,” Hemantha said. “And our team have built strong expertise around it. That combination of technology and talent is what gives us an edge.”

Temenos has also supported Al Salam Bank in strengthening governance operational resilience, and regulatory oversight within a highly regulated environment. “We operate in a market where control, auditability, and resilience are essential,” said Mohammed. “The operating model we have built enables us to meet regulatory requirements, maintain robust internal controls, and comply with ISO standards and regulators expectations, while supporting the Bank’s continued growth.

Business Value Delivered

Beyond technology, the transformation has delivered clear and measurable business outcomes:

• Cost efficiency through elimination of parallel core systems and legacy licenses
• Reduced operational and regulatory risk via a single system of record
• Faster time-to-market for digital products and AI initiatives
• Scalability to support acquisitions without the need for major re-platforming

These outcomes demonstrate how the bank’s technology investments have translated into stronger execution, lower complexity, and a more resilient foundation for sustainable growth.

What’s Next: AI, Data, and Payment Modernization

With its core now fully upgraded, Al Salam Bank is focused on data-driven banking, AI expansion, and payments modernization.

The Bank has launched various AI initiatives, including:

• AI-powered chatbots for customer support
• Automated decisioning for onboarding and credit
• Predictive analytics for internal service desk queries
• Smart document routing and workflow optimisation
• Voice-driven banking pilots for accessibility

“AI is not just an experiment, it’s a board-level priority,” said Hemantha. “It is embedded within our roadmap, ensuring that each initiative is aligned to business value and long-term strategic direction.”

What makes these initiatives possible is the Bank’s data readiness.

Banco da Amazônia (BASA), a leading Brazilian development bank, selected Temenos to power its digital transformation and expand its reach across Brazil. Founded in 1942 and headquartered in Belém, BASA serves over 1 million customers through 120 branches. With a strong mandate to drive sustainable economic development in the Amazon region, the bank is evolving into a digitally scalable institution with national ambitions.

Expanding reach and improving efficiency through digital transformation

The bank is adopting Temenos Core, Digital and Payments solutions to modernize its retail, SME and wholesale banking operations, alongside the launch of a new digital super-app. This transformation is enabling BASA to scale nationally, improve operational efficiency and deliver inclusive financial services beyond its traditional footprint in northern Brazil.

Following a competitive evaluation process, BASA is replacing its legacy core systems with Temenos’ modern banking platform. This transformation supports the bank’s ambition to triple its microcredit portfolio, reduce reliance on government-subsidized credit, and diversify revenue streams through new digital products.

Temenos’ technology enables fully digital client onboarding and servicing, helping BASA reach underbanked and remote communities. Its agile platform also supports the rapid rollout of new offerings in retail investment, SME lending and personal credit, while enhancing support for Brazil’s instant payments ecosystem with 24/7 Pix transactions delivering improved speed, reliability and scalability.

BforBank is the Crédit Agricole Group’s online bank. Founded in 2009, it operates in France and Germany and supports Crédit Agricole’s broader European digital banking strategy.

BforBank provides digital banking services through its mobile platform, offering everyday banking products, savings accounts, and 24/7 customer support. Its account offering includes the BforBASIC card and the BforZEN card, along with regulated savings products such as Livret A, LDDS, life insurance, etc. BforBank also offers consumer loans.

The bank continues to expand its product portfolio as part of its long-term growth plans. BforBank is labeled Digital Responsible Level 2.

Driving Transformation Through Cloud-Native Banking and Scalable Innovation

At the heart of BforBank’s operations is Temenos core banking software, which has supported the bank’s back-office functions since the very beginning. As the banking industry evolved toward greater collaboration and digital agility, BforBank recognized the need to challenge its initial technology choices. BforBank undertook an extensive assessment, exploring multiple software providers using proof of concept trials on Google Cloud. After thorough evaluation, Temenos was chosen for its ongoing commitment to building an open and secure cloud banking platform that enables banks to efficiently assemble and deliver services at scale.

Moving to Temenos on Google Cloud will empower BforBank with hyperscale agility, flexibility, and scalability, enabling it to accelerate the launch of innovative services, while significantly reducing operational costs. Transitioning from an on-premise implementation to a fully cloud-native, API-first architecture positions the bank to seize new growth opportunities and achieve greater efficiency at scale.

BforBank’s vision is ambitious: it aims to reach three million customers by 2030 and expand its footprint beyond France into multiple international markets.  By harnessing its digital-first strategy and advanced technology stack, the bank is poised to transform its business model and deliver exceptional customer experiences across borders.

Recently, BforBank extended its partnership with Temenos by adopting the Temenos Payments Hub. This decision was driven by the desire to eliminate manual processes and accelerate straight-through processing (STP) across various asset classes. BforBank sought to leverage native automation capabilities within Temenos, rather than develop workflows internally – a strategy designed to protect the long-term viability and upgradability of its systems.

By relying on proven, upgradable technology, the bank aimed to maximize the benefits of its existing Temenos core banking solution, improve return on investment, and reduce manual intervention in payments management and SEPA direct debit processing.

BforBank’s journey with Temenos Core on Google Cloud and Temenos Payments Hub showcases how a forward-thinking digital bank can harness composable banking and cloud innovation to drive operational excellence, accelerate growth, and redefine customer empowerment in the financial sector. These strategic technology choices highlight BforBank’s unwavering commitment to leveraging leading-edge technology to deliver superior banking experiences and sustain long-term growth.

Bank of Beirut UK is a specialist trade finance bank with a unique footprint. Based in London and regulated by the Bank of England, it plays a key role in connecting banking corridors between Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.

“Our core business is correspondent banking and trade finance,” said Sophoklis Argyrou, CEO of Bank of Beirut UK. “We act as a gateway for regional banks wanting to finance exports into Africa and the Middle East. Today, we work with over 300 banks across these corridors.”

While this wholesale network remains central, the bank also serves a specific and growing segment: the Lebanese diaspora – typically high-net-worth individuals in West Africa, MENA, and Lebanon. Sophoklis sees this group as a cornerstone of future growth.

While the bank’s previous systems were functional, they lacked the capabilities to enable modernization at scale. Enhancements were costly, operational visibility was limited, and compliance demands were growing.

“We felt the systems no longer gave us what we needed – from performance to security to reporting,” Sophoklis explained. “And as we looked to expand, we needed a platform that could support that ambition.”

The bank launched a full replacement of its core and payments infrastructure, with four main strategic goals:

• Scale their trade finance business to strengthen their corporate banking proposition
• Enable growth in retail and private banking
• Improve operational efficiency and regulatory readiness
• Ensure long-term stability and control

Although the Temenos platform was already being evaluated by the parent group, the UK entity conducted its own due diligence.

The bank was particularly drawn to Temenos’ focus on banking.

“They are a specialist financial services core provider,” he noted. “Unlike other tech firms covering multiple sectors, Temenos is purely focused on banking. And their client base matched our profile; institutions facing similar regulatory and operational complexity.”

The solution includes Temenos Core, Temenos Trade Finance, and Temenos Payments to meet UK regulatory and data residency requirements.

This was not a standard plug-and-play implementation. As a correspondent bank, Bank of Beirut UK handles complex payment flows using SWIFT MT100, MT200, and MT700 series messages – capabilities that require robust configuration.

The bank worked closely with LTIMindtree, Temenos’ preferred partner in the region.

“LTIMindtree delivered the project with professionalism and care. We had confidence in them from the start, and they validated that confidence throughout,” Sophoklis said.

“For this transformation, tight collaboration was essential,” said Hemal Jayasinghe, Chief Business Officer, at LTIMindtree. “Bank of Beirut UK, Temenos, and our delivery team worked as one from day one – aligning on priorities, managing the regulatory environment, and solving challenges together.”

The project went live in just over 12 months. And while formal ROI assessments are scheduled for the next phase, the immediate feedback has been clear – especially from frontline teams.

“The trade finance team told us straight away – it’s more capable, more efficient,” Sophoklis shared. “They can process faster and with more confidence.”

Operationally, the system has already unlocked key improvements:

• Dramatically expanded management information (MI) and reporting capabilities
• Significantly improved data visibility across operations

“The data visibility is miles ahead of what we had before,” Sophoklis said. “The MI potential is limitless.

Control and security have also improved, giving senior leadership greater confidence. “We feel more secure, knowing we’re operating on an up-to-date platform with proper controls,” added Sophoklis.

The transformation is about more than modernization – it’s about enabling a different kind of bank. While 80–85% of the business today remains wholesale-focused, the target is to reach a 60/40 split between wholesale and retail/private banking.

“We’re expanding our offering to the Lebanese diaspora – high-net-worth clients who want a secure, personalized service,” Sophoklis explained. “The new platform gives us the agility to grow without compromising our core.”

The goal is clear: grow the customer base threefold within three to five years, starting from mid-2026.

At a Glance

• First bank in Egypt to go live with native ISO 20022 MX messaging

• Enabled fully native SWIFT payments

• Significant STP gains and automation by replacing previous Funds Transfer module

• Fully integrated with Temenos Core

Established in 2020, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Egypt (ADCB Egypt) is a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Group, one of the leading banking institutions in the UAE. The bank offers retail, corporate, SME, and digital banking services through a nationwide network and advanced digital platforms and has achieved strong financial growth while earning industry recognition for digital innovation, customer service, and financial inclusion.

Today, the bank uses Temenos Core across its Retail, Corporate, SME, and institutional client segments. That foundation is now being strengthened with payments innovation.

In 2025, ADCB Egypt became the first bank in Egypt to go live with Temenos Payments for SWIFT payments, and fully compliant with ISO 20022 / SWIFT MX messaging standards.

What makes this deployment stand out is its native integration. ADCB implemented the new messaging standard directly within its system. By removing middleware and workarounds, the bank can now work directly with structured, source-level data.

“This approach gives us full data integrity and no limitations,” Ihab Elswerkey CEO & Managing Director at ADCB Egypt explained. “It’s more than compliance; it’s the smart way to scale, in line with our 5-year growth strategy.

By going native from day one, the bank avoids inefficiencies and translation risks, gaining agility as regulations evolve. It’s a bold move that sets the bank apart from competitors still working through interim solutions.

The implementation, led by ITSS with support from Temenos and ADCB’s internal PMO, followed a structured rollout. ADCB Egypt prioritized cross-border payments. The setup included five full environments spanning development, UAT, pre-production (x2), and production.

“ITSS played a critical role,” Ihab said. “They brought deep product knowledge and helped us set up a robust environment across dev, UAT, and production. Their collaboration with our team was excellent.”

ITSS also reflected on the strength of the partnership. “ADCB Egypt had a clear vision for compliance and scalability,” said Patrick Jaccoud, CEO, ITSS. “Our role was to bring deep expertise in Temenos Payments and ensure that the implementation was seamless, modular, and future proof. This project proves what’s possible when the client, partner, and vendor work as one team.”

The shift from Temenos’ previous module to Temenos Payments Hub delivered immediate benefits. ADCB Egypt achieved stronger straight-through processing, significantly reduced manual intervention, and now responds to regulatory changes faster and more cleanly. Payment flows are now centrally orchestrated, improving both visibility and control.

ADCB Egypt ran a formal evaluation process, comparing Temenos Payments with other global vendors. TPH stood out for its native ISO 20022 support, seamless compatibility with the bank’s existing Temenos Core platform, and a scalable architecture that required minimal customization. ADCB also took the opportunity to deploy Temenos Treasury Front Office (TFO), which it completed in June 2024.

ADCB Egypt required a platform that didn’t need heavy customization. Temenos Payments absorbed the business needs with minimal rework, presenting a major advantage.

With Phase 1 now live, ADCB Egypt is planning its next move: extending Temenos Payments to handle other payment schemes (ACH, RTGS, and instant payments), all under a single orchestration layer. The bank is also expanding its use of analytics, AI, and real-time insights – critical tools in its strategy to attract a new generation of digital-first customers with faster, smarter, and more responsive banking experiences.

For ADCB Egypt, this is about building a platform that grows with the bank, a strategic move to continuously modernize its infrastructure and ensure its readiness for the future.

Cairo Amman Bank (CAB) has been a leading financial institution in Jordan and Palestine since 1960. It serves a diverse customer base through three distinct segments, LINC (a youth-focused digital brand for ages 18-40), SIGNATURE (elite individuals and corporate clients), and the mass market operating under the CAB brand.

In Jordan, LINC is deeply embedded in university life through co-branded prepaid student ID cards, while SIGNATURE and CAB serve the bank’s premium and broad-based customer segments.

By 2025, CAB reached a critical juncture. Although Temenos Core had been fully rolled out in 2012, following a period of coexistence with a legacy system, the core platform had not been upgraded in more than a decade, limiting CAB’s ambitions that need additional scalability and innovation.

“We knew we couldn’t scale the way we wanted,” said Rami Maayah, Group CIO. ” Our previous setup demanded too many resources just to keep things running. It was clearly time for a meaningful step forward.”

Given the complexity of the previous setup, an upgrade in 2017 wasn’t finished at the time, so CAB later adopted a more structured approach and launched a full‑scope technical transformation in Jordan and Bahrain. The bank went live successfully on 12 October 2025, marking a major milestone in its modernization journey.

The shift was significant: CAB migrated from IBM DB2 to Oracle and replaced outdated JBoss middleware with IBM Liberty, eliminating years of compensating controls required to manage security risks. “The upgrade removed vulnerabilities we couldn’t address before due to database and middleware limitations,” Rami explained. “We now have a stable, modern, and secure technology stack.”

The Jordan upgrade took a little over a year, reflecting the complexity of the transformation. Now live, CAB has eliminated costly extended support contracts, significantly improving cost efficiency.

The previous environment required additional maintenance, while the new subscription model delivers much greater value for only a slight increase in investment.

With Jordan and Bahrain now on a modern release, CAB has defined a clear three-phase strategy:

• Technical Upgrade – Move the remaining entities to a modern release, supported by Temenos’ always upgradable platform.
• Back-to-Core Assessment – Remove ~2,900 local customizations and realign with an adopt approach to consume rich and standard functionality.
• Functional Upgrade – Build on a clean core to deploy new digital services and innovation.

CAB is also applying the same approach to its Palestine operations, with the upgrade targeted for completion by mid-2026. Unlike Jordan, the Palestine environment still runs on Jbase, a file-based system, adding complexity.

“We took the hard road first in Jordan,” Rami noted. “CAB Palestine will benefit directly from those lessons, allowing us to move faster and more efficiently.”

CAB also completed its upgrade of the Temenos Financial Crime Mitigation (FCM) suite in December 2024, in line with a mandate from the Central Bank of Jordan. The bank uses the full suite of FCM modules, including screening, profiling, and KYC+.

With VBOT implemented, false positives dropped by 40–50%, significantly reducing manual review effort and compliance overhead.

Looking ahead, CAB plans to deploy Temenos AI in the near future, leveraging subscription-based licensing secured during contract renewal. This AI-driven capability is expected to further enhance screening accuracy and operational efficiency.

As LarrainVial expanded beyond Chile into new markets, it needed a platform that could support international growth without increasing complexity.

“We approached growth as fundamentally a technology plan,” said Ignacio Osorio, Partner and Head of Technology and Operations at LarrainVial. “We wanted a system and processes that were simple, so that they could be repeatable and applicable in every market.”

The customer experience was key, added Ignacio. “Our client base (primarily institutional investors and high networth individuals) demand high performance, low latency, and real-time access to portfolio data across borders.”

The firm also required strong controls for regulatory compliance and operational risk.

LarrainVial’s partnership with Temenos began more than 15 years ago. It was a time when the value of Temenos as a partner, not just a vendor, was on display. “We had to learn everything: methodologies, processes, new skills. It required a very patient partner who understood where we are as a business, what we needed, and how to get us there.”

That first experience has proved a valuable investment, added Ignacio. “From then on, upgrades and new implementations have been straightforward.”

That has included two major upgrades of the core platform, which continues to be the backbone of its operations. The system provides a stable, high-performance environment with strong controls around data integrity, process execution, and regulatory compliance.

More recently, LarrainVial began implementing the Temenos Wealth solution to create a fully integrated front-to-back experience for wealth management clients.

The stability and scalability of Temenos Core Banking has supported LarrainVial’s regional expansion and evolving business model. With real-time information and full portfolio visibility, relationship managers can now offer more personalized and accurate investment advice. The platform has also enabled rapid, reliable integration with markets and counterparties, a critical capability for institutional clients.

In turn, that gives the firm’s clients confidence in them. “Temenos is a mark of trust. Our clients recognize the Temenos name, and that reflects positively on us. They feel in safe hands with a company using Temenos systems.”

LarrainVial selected Temenos for its flexibility, local adaptability, and global track record. “We knew we needed a system that could be configured to meet Chilean market realities while offering world-class performance. Temenos stood out then, and it still does,” Ignacio explained.

Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) is one of Vietnam’s largest private banks, serving over 30 million customers across retail and corporate banking. The bank is a leader in digital innovation, having launched multiple digital brands including NEO, NEOBiz, UBank, Cake. To serve millions more customers with speed and reliability, VPBank recognized that its core banking platform had to evolve – to be faster, smarter, and more scalable.

VPBank had been using Temenos Core Banking since 2006. As it has grown, it has retained this core, while upgrading to new releases.

“We always need to improve our speed to market and agility,” said Augustine Wong Kok Seng, former CIO at VPBank. “Digital banks move fast, and if we want to stay competitive, we need to keep our core platform at the cutting edge.”

More importantly, many of the alternative platforms required specialized business analyst skills that were hard to source in emerging markets like Vietnam.

VPBank committed to upgrading its Temenos core banking, while shifting to a hybrid architecture using Red Hat OpenShift. The bank partnered with Systems Limited, with proven expertise in deploying Red Hat OpenShift for core banking on-premise. Red Hat was instrumental in helping containerise VPBank’s core banking system. While the core continues to run on-premise in a private cloud, AWS supported the broader hybrid architecture and testing environments, providing flexibility as the bank plans for future innovations.

This wasn’t a routine upgrade. It was one of the largest and most complex core banking transformations in the country. It involved migrating more than 18 million accounts and 77 terabytes of data, all within a 24-hour go-live window.

Key to success was VPBank’s decision to run the upgrade using disaster recovery (DR) mode to avoid impacting customer service. For most of the weekend, customers continued transacting as usual, with only a brief three-hour switchover window when systems were unavailable.

“With this modernisation, VPBank gains the ability to orchestrate workloads at scale, streamline deployments, and maintain high availability. These are critical capabilities for supporting millions of customers while driving continuous innovation,” said Dao Hoang Giang (Jane), Country Manager, Red Hat Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos & Myanmar.

The technology upgrade is about more than just scale. It’s also enabling inclusion.

Vietnam has a population of over 100 million, but only around 30 million are currently banked. VPBank is on a mission to change that. “Our full name – Vietnam Prosperity Bank – says it all,” Augustine said. “We’re here to build an inclusive financial society. That requires trust, and trust is built on stable, scalable systems.”

When FundBank continued its recent global expansion into the US and Luxembourg, to further serve the asset management industry, it had a rare advantage: no legacy systems and no outdated technology. The goal was simple but powerful: create a fully digital, cross-border bank that could serve clients with speed, security, and simplicity. With the full Temenos SaaS offering FundBank turned that vision into reality driving its expansion in the United States. This foundation positions the bank to serve significantly more clients without increasing operational complexity.

FundBank isn’t a traditional bank. It is a global bank focused on serving the asset management sector, including fund managers, administrators, brokers, and family offices who need seamless service across jurisdictions. These clients value efficiency and expect their banking to move as fast as their investments. Using Temenos, FundBank is expected to serve significantly more customers per employee as automation and straight-through processing increase across operations.

“FundBank was built for a niche market that demands more than just banking,” said Diarmuid O’Donovan, Global Chief Information Officer. “They want a digital experience that feels effortless, wherever they do business.”

Having operated in the Cayman Islands for many years, FundBank launched operations in the U.S in 2024 and began with a clean slate. There were no legacy systems to migrate or old data to reconcile, just the opportunity to design a modern, cloud-native bank from the ground up. The first major milestone came when the bank secured its U.S. banking license from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). With regulatory approval in place, FundBank expanded to Luxembourg.

This scalability is expected to support rising transaction volumes and cross-sell activity as the bank expands into new markets.

To power its growth, FundBank adopted end-to-end banking on Temenos SaaS, deployed on Microsoft Azure. Temenos Core Banking is the foundation of the platform while Temenos Digital delivers an intuitive, frictionless online experience for corporate clients. Temenos Payments enables full centralization and real-time control over the processing of any type of payment from any channel or source, with cross-border and multi-currency payments flowing smoothly across multiple clearing systems, including ISO 20022. Financial Crime Mitigation ensures robust compliance, while Temenos Data Hub provides the insights and real-time analytics needed to drive smarter decisions. As adoption increases, FundBank expects cross-sell performance to rise exponentially, supported by deeper insights and more personalized client engagement.

From day one, FundBank set out to be fully digital. Every process, from onboarding to account management, happens online. Clients can open and manage accounts quickly and securely. While the U.S. and Luxembourg operations are entirely digital, the third phase in Cayman Islands will integrate shortly. Behind the scenes, Temenos’ open integration framework connects FundBank to critical third-party systems like Bloomberg and HID, giving the bank the flexibility to customize and extend services without building them from scratch. This digital-first approach is expected to revolutionize onboarding while improving overall customer satisfaction significantly.

FundBank worked closely with Temenos, leveraging their architecture alignment, support, and strategic guidance to ensure every component of the deployment worked seamlessly together. With proven success in countries like Luxembourg, Temenos offered both the technology and the track record FundBank needed, giving the bank confidence as it expanded its global footprint.

Founded in the 1970s as the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP), the Arab Energy Fund is a specialist financial institution focused on midstream and downstream energy investments. Its business activities span direct equity investments, trade finance, and structured loans, including syndicated and bilateral arrangements where it often acts as facility or syndication agent. It supports over 130 active facilities with a combined balance sheet exceeding USD 5.88 billion.

In 2024 it marked its 50th anniversary with an expanded mandate that includes sustainability and ESG-driven financing. That vision came with complexity, and need for further enhancements of the system with new and more innovative modules.

With greater operational efficiency, the Fund has increased its capacity to serve as agent on more complex deals. And because each facility can be configured individually, the platform supports the Fund’s ambitions to lead higher-value, structured transactions in the region.

Additionally, the AA architecture has enabled product-level configuration and categorization, streamlining how data is captured and improving what’s possible in reporting and analysis

“When your products are designed the way your business operates, reporting becomes a by-product,” Mohammad said. “Now we get the data we need, in the format we need it. And we feed these back into the business, so we have a continually loop of insights and improvements.”

Going greener

Technology is also helping the Fund deliver on its ESG commitments. Since 2020, it has launched green bonds and invested in sustainable energy projects. Its new Temenos modules allow for these ESG-linked products to be structured with the specific parameters needed for compliance and performance tracking.