Temenos Solution: Core banking
IIG Bank (Malta) Ltd
Scaling Instant Payments with a lean, well-rounded, and efficient team.
St. Julian’s, Malta
At a Glance
• One of the first banks in Malta to go live with SEPA Instant Payments.
• Transaction times reduced to seconds, with 24/7 availability.
• Compliance with SWIFT CBPR+ and TIPS, the European Central Bank’s instant payment settlement platform.
IIG Bank (Malta) Ltd., established in 2010, is a fully licensed credit institution regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). The bank specializes in structured, supply chain trade finance promoting international trade and commodity finance in emerging markets. Despite having a team of fewer than 50 employees and a small IT department, it ranks as the 13th largest bank in Malta.
Regulation – the catalyst for change
Al Ziyani understood that proactive innovation alone would not be enough. The bank would also need to keep pace with a continually evolving regulatory climate, to ensure any new products and features were compliant. And in 2024 and 2025, he was proven right, as IIG faced a significant challenge in adopting the upcoming SWIFT CBPR+ and SEPA Instant Payments regulations. As the bank’s operations evolved, so did its technology needs. To support future growth and ensure compliance with evolving regulations, the bank recognized the importance of a modern payment’s infrastructure, one that offers greater automation, interoperability, and scalability.
But the bank’s ambitions extend beyond Malta. “We have a global outlook,” said Heytem Al Ziyani, Head of IT at IIG Bank. “We aim to support customers and provide financial services wherever they are. “Digital is core to this vision”; but an outdated core banking system proved an obstacle to progress. “We see lots of opportunities to improve and to provide better services to our clients; but without the right technology in place, they can only be ideas.” The Bank took a bold step forward in 2017 when it adopted Temenos as its core banking system and partnered with Stoics IT for the first time for implementation.
“We needed a platform that would adapt to changing regulation, able to scale with us, and connect seamlessly with the outside world.”
– Heytem Al Ziyani, Head of IT at IIG Bank
A six-month sprint to instant payments
IIG Bank turned to Temenos a trusted partner since 2017, and implementation specialists Stoics IT, recently acquired by Bahwan CyberTek (BCT), to design and execute a fast-track implementation plan. “As a small team, we work closely and collaboratively with our partners,” said Al Ziyani. “So, getting the right fit – not just the technology, but crucially the right team too – is always a big decision for us. We ask questions: Do we fully understand the scope of these new regulations? How will they impact our systems and the services we deliver to our customers? And what actions do we need to take?”
These were the key topics to focus on and to address by the bank, Temenos and BCT. By bringing all parties together from the outset, the bank ensured alignment and collaboration throughout every phase of the project. This comprehensive coordination is essential in any modernization effort, enabling the team to move swiftly and effectively. “Precision and efficiency are key, we focus on getting every step right the first time,” said Al Ziyani.
And they were. In just six months, the bank upgraded its Temenos core banking system to R24 AMR release and implemented the instant payment module TIPS (the European Central Bank’s instant payment settlement platform) within its existing Temenos Payments Hub (TPH) environment. This was followed by the successful finalisation of SWIFT CBPR+.
Go-lives were achieved in quick succession: the Temenos core banking system upgrade in December 2024, instant payments in January 2025, and SWIFT CBPR+ in June 2025. “We delivered major go-lives within months. For a financial institution with a lean but well-rounded team across all departments, this was a significant achievement.”
“Deep expertise and strong project discipline are always essential in these kinds of projects. With the right people in place and a clear plan, progress is achieved even better than in larger teams that are less structured. This was especially true at IIG Bank, where strong internal team alignment, together with a close partnership with Temenos and BCT, played a key role in the project’s success.”
– Madhan Visvanathan – Head of Temenos Practice at BCT
Real-time payments, real business impact
The implementation of TPH and the system upgrade to R24 AMR release has brought full SEPA compliance, enabling seamless cross-border transactions across Europe. The bank can now process SEPA transactions in less than 10 seconds, with 24/7 availability. All transactions are automatically screened and reconciled, with no manual intervention required. Additionally, the move to the Temenos core banking system means the bank can integrate with other European digital platforms, and EU customers can now open accounts and manage transactions entirely online from anywhere in the EU.
“Imagine a German depositor opening a term deposit at a Maltese bank, with no branch presence in Germany, acting completely online, no manual intervention and no delays. That’s the power of this transformation,” Al Ziyani added. “The number of requests we now receive online to open accounts versus the traditional method of visiting our Malta branch… it’s incredible.”
Platform stability and performance have also improved, supporting the bank’s growing digital network and reducing reliance on manual intervention.
Flexibility – the competitive edge
IIG Bank chose to expand with Temenos because of the platform’s ability to scale through automation and integrations, ensuring consistency with their lean operating structure.
“In modern banking, you need to be able to connect to a network of solutions. The strength of Temenos is its adaptability. We can integrate with any platform, comply with new regulations, and roll out new services quickly.”
– Heytem Al Ziyani, Head of IT at IIG Bank
The relationship goes beyond the product. Market expertise and a proactive approach during exchanges, especially when seeking solutions to the evolving requirement to remain compliant and meet regulatory expectations, are key ingredients of how Temenos continues to support its clients. “2024 and 2025 brought major changes in our sector. Temenos was with us for every step, helping us plan, adapt, and deploy effectively and on time,” Al Ziyani explained.
A smarter future
With the upgrading of the core and the payments layers, IIG is exploring automation in areas such as customer onboarding and fraud detection. Temenos Financial Crime Mitigation (FCM) already plays a central role in AML and transaction screening, and AI is firmly on the roadmap for future capabilities.
“Our future is digital. And with Temenos, we have the platform and the partner to keep evolving, while maintaining the focused, lean operating model that we value.”
– Heytem Al Ziyani, Head of IT at IIG Bank
We partnered successfully with:
BCT is an exclusive sales and delivery partner for all Temenos products and solutions in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan.
LOLC Cambodia
Modernizing to expand financial inclusion
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
LOLC Cambodia
Modernizing to expand financial inclusion
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
At a Glance
• Leading microfinance institution serving over 330,000 customers across Cambodia
• Temenos Financial Inclusion deployed in 2017 to support digitization and expand inclusion
• Upgrade to R22 in 2024.
• 57% customer growth since 2017, supported by a scalable and future-ready core banking system
• Expanded General Loan Portfolio (GLP) by 308% and almost halved its cost to GLP ratio to 4.31%
• Operational efficiency gains, including reduced manual processes and enhanced reporting capabilities
LOLC Cambodia is one of the country’s largest and most mission-driven microfinance deposit-taking institutions (MDIs). With a strong focus on rural communities, the institution provides a range of financial services aimed at empowering underserved populations. Alongside loans, it also offers deposits, a mobile banking application, ATM cards, and local fund transfer services. Since its founding in 1994, LOLC Cambodia has grown to serve over 330,000 customers, with loan assets exceeding $1.5 billion and customer deposits surpassing $1 billion. LOLC is nationally ranked first for number of borrowers and second for loan portfolio and deposit balance. It employs 3,700 people.
Despite this scale, LOLC’s mission remains elegantly simple.
Our goal is to provide financial services to those who need them most, with speed and convenience.”
Mr. Sok Sophal, CFO/DCEO at LOLC Cambodia
To this end, it has maintained a focus on the low end of the market, with 79% of its clients based in rural areas, and 60% of its loan book made up of group loans and micro loans.
The case for change
Prior to 2017, LOLC was hampered in a number of ways. The legacy core banking system had to be deployed as separate environments in each branch, resulting in significant technical support to maintain them and enable new branch openings. For example, database backups were carried out in individual branches and sent to HO for consolidation, while data was manually written from CD/DVD to tape drive for retention. Product updates required hard coding or SQL server scripting. There was an over-reliance on third-party applications to support some core processes, such as updating loan repayment schedules with EIR (Effective Interest Rate) and generating key reports such as the Customer Poverty Index. Also, individual databases were needed for each currency.
These inefficiencies filtered through to the customer experience. Manual onboarding processes made it difficult for new customers—especially in rural areas—to access financial services quickly. The outdated core banking system lacked flexibility and automation, limiting LOLC’s ability to scale. Regulatory requirements, including IFRS compliance, demanded a more robust reporting and risk management framework. At the same time, a rapidly evolving digital landscape was opening up new opportunities to integrate with mobile banking and real-time payments—such as Cambodia’s Bakong platform—which LOLC was not equipped to take advantage of.
Aligning strategy with solution
In 2017, LOLC implemented Temenos Financial Inclusion as the foundation for its modernization strategy. The decision to select Temenos initially rested on three essential attributes, recalls Sophal
First, cost efficiency. Temenos was shown to offer significant savings over time due to lower maintenance costs and the reduced need for expensive customizations. The standardized configurations and open architecture also contribute to a lower TCO. Moreover, ease of scalability has ensured that costs remain predictable and manageable as the bank expands.
Industry leadership was a second factor.
Temenos has a long-standing reputation in the banking industry, with extensive experience in delivering core banking solutions to a wide range of financial institutions.”
Mr. Sok Sophal, CFO/DCEO at LOLC Cambodia
Finally, LOLC was impressed by the pool of leading technology and consulting firms, certified professionals, and partners in the Temenos ecosystem. These alliances bring additional domain expertise, product innovation, and know-how of successful implementations, giving LOLC peace of mind that modernization could be sustained.
Alongside these strategic pillars were specific capabilities of Temenos Financial Inclusion that marked it out. These included automation and STP to increase operational efficiency; integration with digital banking, CRM, and regulatory platforms; real-time and cross-border transaction processing; multi-branch and multi-country flexibility; the availability of the Product Builder (Wizard) and the ability to originate loans from all channels.
Summarizing its decision, Sophal says, “We selected Temenos Financial Inclusion for long-term scalability, automation, digital transformation, and inclusivity.”
Building on success
In 2024, LOLC completed the upgrade to R22. The update included, among others, migration from TAFC to TAFJ; new hardware, databases, and OS; integration with multiple third-party systems and devices; and the implementation of 12 new modules.
The technical complexity of the upgrade was coupled with stakeholder challenges, explains Duleep Liyanage, CIO. “Colleagues had become very familiar with the R14 version and were resistant to change. We were very conscious about bringing all users with us, so training and communication were a priority.”
The move to R22 was managed by Temenos Upgrade Services (TUS). “They brought a very holistic and systematic approach to the project,” recalls Duleep
They implemented a robust governance structure, established clear communication channels, conducted extensive testing, and applied operational know-how, such as setting optimal data migration volume levels.”
Duleep Liyanage, CIO at LOLC Cambodia
Duleep adds that TUS was also highly aware of the importance of stakeholder engagement, with user feedback sessions, incentives and rewards, and milestone celebrations forming a key part of the upgrade project.
Modernization in action
The solution has delivered on its promises. From 2017 to 2024, LOLC expanded its General Loan Portfolio (GLP) by 308%, saw customer numbers grow by 57%, and almost halved its cost to GLP ratio to 4.31%.
Behind these numbers is a modern customer experience. Users are able to open accounts and access services in a fraction of the time and select from a range of highly personalized products. New offers are continually developed and deployed, increasing choice. Digital transactions include integration with Cambodia’s Bakong real-time payment platform to allow instant fund transfers across mobile. Advanced fraud detection, encryption, and real-time monitoring have improved security and trust. And the adoption of IFRS 9 accounting standards has enhanced LOLC’s ability to monitor non-performing loans and manage credit risks effectively.
Tangible impact
Growth numbers alone don’t tell the whole story. “Temenos Financial Inclusion has had a tangible impact on the lives of its customers,” says Sophal. Faster access to loans has helped small businesses and farmers secure funding without long delays. New loan products for women entrepreneurs and small businesses are increasing inclusion and boosting entrepreneurship in the country. Mobile banking adoption has surged, enabling customers in remote areas to manage accounts, send payments, and receive funds without visiting a branch. And simplified deposit services now allow families to save for their future more effectively.
For many of our customers, digital banking is their first experience with formal financial services. Temenos has made it possible for us to bridge that gap and provide them with safe, reliable banking.”
Duleep Liyanage, CIO at LOLC Cambodia
Leading from the front
With Temenos Financial Inclusion firmly in place, LOLC is looking ahead. Plans are underway to expand digital lending services, enabling even more customers to access credit with minimal paperwork. LOLC is also working to enhance real-time analytics, using AI-powered insights to better understand customer needs, and explore new financial products such as insurance and investment solutions tailored for Cambodia’s microfinance market.
“With Temenos, we are not just keeping up with change—we are driving it. We are building the future of financial inclusion in Cambodia,” says Duleep.
By adopting Temenos Financial Inclusion, LOLC has positioned itself as a leader in inclusive banking, ensuring that more Cambodians—especially those in rural areas—have access to modern financial services. With improved customer experiences, faster onboarding, and a scalable platform for future growth, LOLC is setting new benchmarks in the microfinance industry.
That elevates its relationship with Temenos well beyond a client/vendor, explains Duleep. “Temenos is more than a technology provider; it is a partner in our mission to bring financial services to those who need them most and an indispensable part of our success story.”
LOLC Cambodia
Modernizing to expand financial inclusion
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
At a Glance
- Achieved a 70% reduction in workloads for the bank’s internal development teams
- Able to schedule one upgrade at least per year per subsidiary with a 50% shorter execution time.
- Create development environments within a day instead of 5 days
- Consolidated 4 separate core banking instances to a single technical stack
- Completed initial upgrade of Temenos Core in 6 months following a phased, low-risk strategy
- Reduced cost operation by 1M USD compared to previous setup
- There has been at least 90% improvement in overall automation testing
Founded in 1838, Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) is the oldest and largest banking institution in Mauritius. MCB provides a range of personal, corporate and institutional banking services through a local network of 40 branches. The bank also maintains a strong regional presence, operating through subsidiaries and associated companies in Madagascar, Maldives, Mozambique, Seychelles, Dubai, South Africa, Kenya and France.
Although MCB has a long history, it has always focused on looking forward. The bank has built a reputation for innovation, being the first financial institution to introduce ATMs to Mauritius in the 1980s. It was the first to launch a mobile banking app: MCB Juice, which has since, upgraded several times to allow users to check their accounts, transfer funds, manage cards, pay bills and view investments among others all while on the move. A new beta version of the mobile banking application is under test that will reveal further enhancement and new functionalities.
Reza Chady, Architecture Chapter Lead at MCB, confirms: “Innovation plays a very important role in our culture, and we pride ourselves on being able to adapt to a demanding operating environment. Today, customer preferences and regulatory requirements are evolving rapidly. To stay ahead of the change, we need banking systems that are flexible and adaptable, while also providing a secure environment for delivering our services.”
Getting fit for the future
As part of this continuous push to innovate, MCB set out on a journey to update and transform its core banking infrastructure. The bank has been using Temenos Core since 2007 and, after years of expansion, it felt that the time was right to change the bank’s setup. Key objectives for MCB were rationalizing what had become a complex systems landscape, and achieving greater economies of scale and speed across multiple subsidiaries and banking functions.
“Our core banking landscape has not grown in a very uniform way,” explains Reza Chady. “Previously, we maintained 5 different versions of Temenos Core, with individual environments for each operating entity. This approach was overly complex, and made it difficult to scale the business and execute new strategies in a unified way—not to mention adding considerable cost and management overheads.”
Core banking, upgraded
To rationalize and streamline its core banking environment, MCB decided to consolidate all of its separate entities on one centralized Temenos Core technical stack, running in its private cloud. This cloud-powered platform has shaped the heart of a new digital backbone at MCB, transforming current business and operational processes to gain greater efficiency, agility and innovation.
For its new private cloud environment, MCB opted for a container-based architecture. The bank’s development team already had a positive experience using the Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform for creating containerized applications for its digital channels. So naturally, the team was keen to build on the platform again when it came to the core banking renovation.
Assembling an expert team
The core banking upgrade and private cloud migration represent one of the bank’s most ambitious recent projects. To minimize risk and ensure a smooth execution, MCB engaged Temenos services experts for their support and guidance.
Managing a project of this scale and complexity requires precise coordination among all partners and a high level of trust. We were very pleased with the strong working relationship we built with Temenos. The collaboration between our teams has been extremely productive, and that’s evident in the quality of the deliverables.”
Reza Chady, Architecture Chapter Lead at MCB
Adopting a low-risk, step-by-step upgrade strategy
Together, MCB and Temenos identified that a phased approach was the smartest way forward for the upgrade project—reducing complexity and risk. As the first stage in the implementation, MCB migrated the core banking environment of one of its entities in the Maldives onto the latest version of Temenos Core.
Reza Chady continues: “The initial upgrade took around six months to complete and went very smoothly. Since then, the latest version of Temenos Core has been working perfectly, as is the Red Hat OpenShift environment. The combination of Temenos and Red Hat has proved really powerful, and we are very pleased with the stability and performance we have achieved since the upgrade.”
Following Maldives successful and smooth upgrade, we proceeded with MCB Mauritius core banking upgrade from R23 to R24. Following another positive outcome and smooth implementation, this upgrade has been extended to our remaining regional subsidiaries—Seychelles has been upgraded to R24, while Madagascar continues on R23, ensuring alignment with regional deployment strategies.
Currently, the Mauritius COB time has been reduced to around 2 hours 20 minutes from an initial average COB time of around 7 hours.
Strategic Adoption and Modernized Management with OpenShift
MCB strategically selected the OpenShift Container Platform as its container orchestration solution for its robust enterprise features, which have greatly enhanced operational agility and efficiency.
Leveraging OpenShift, each Application Server instance is deployed as an independent Pod, simplifying management and ensuring isolation. Horizontal Pod Autoscalers (HPA) dynamically scale workloads based on performance metrics, while Prometheus provides real-time monitoring and alerting for proactive system oversight. In addition, OpenShift’s rollout-based restart mechanism enables application instances to restart without service interruption, ensuring zero-downtime deployments and improved service availability.
Ongoing initiatives
In parallel, the bank is rolling out the Temenos Extensibility framework, which will allow it to connect its core banking platform to different third-party services.
MCB is deploying Temenos Payments Hub in November 2025 and evaluating the Temenos Data Hub to enable near-real-time data processing.
Increasing agility and cutting costs
MCB is already getting compelling results from its core banking upgrade. With Temenos Core running in its private cloud environment, MCB has opened up a whole new world of agility and scalability, which has already accelerated time-to-market for new client services with a streamlined development pipeline. MCB will now be able to schedule one upgrade at least per year per subsidiary with a 50% shorter execution time.
Today, we’re deploying new services faster, with fewer issues during release management and more controlled access to production. Before, it took around five days and the efforts of multiple teams to create new development environments; now, we create them within a day. We estimate that this has resulted in a 70% reduction in workloads—and we expect to build on these efficiencies as we automate more workflows.”
Reza Chady, Architecture Chapter Lead at MCB
The bank is also unlocking major cost savings by consolidating on a single core banking instance and database, as Reza Chady explains: “By migrating to Temenos Core in our private cloud, we expect to reduce our hardware estate by at least 70%. Likewise, by consolidating from individual instances to a single core banking platform and database, we expect to realize significant savings on licensing costs, as well as administrative and maintenance resources.”
Reaching new horizons
The benefits and value of the core renovation will only increase as MCB works to bring more of its entities onto the latest version of Temenos Core. Building on the well-established partnership with Temenos, the bank is looking forward to a brighter future.
We have been working with Temenos for 15 years now. In that time, it has been amazing to see how far their technology has come. Temenos Core has evolved into a truly modern, sophisticated platform with a robust architecture and rich capabilities. We are very excited to have Temenos as the backbone supporting our ongoing digital transformation.”
Reza Chady, Architecture Chapter Lead at MCB
We partnered successfully with
MCB Consulting
MCB Consulting Services Ltd (MCB Consulting) has been fully incorporated in June 2014 as a wholly owned subsidiary of MCB Group Ltd, the largest financial services provider in Mauritius and increasingly in the region.
Red Hat
Providing a clear modernization path to adopting a cloud strategy for core banking, digital banking, wealth management, fund management, and payments systems.