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.

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 “Digital is core to this vision”; but an outdated core banking system proved an obstacle to progress.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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

IIG Bank (Malta) Ltd Scaling Instant Payments with a lean, well-rounded, and efficient team. St. Julian’s, Malta IIG Bank (Malta) LTD. Red logo with I G and large circle with world super imposed At a Glance https://vimeo.com/1094014151/8b8361059c?ts=0&share=copy Interview with IIG Bank 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 the bank 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. “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 “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 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. 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. “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.” – Heytem Al Ziyani, Head of IT at IIG Bank Regulation – the catalyst for change “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 “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.” – Heytem Al Ziyani, Head of IT at IIG Bank 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.” Bahwan CyberTek logo – words in black text with a blue square icon that contains a white B with ripples in it like water BCT is an exclusive sales and delivery partner for all Temenos products and solutions in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan. Bahwan CyberTek logo – words in black text with a blue square icon that contains a white B with ripples in it like water BCT is an exclusive sales and delivery partner for all Temenos products and solutions in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan. “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.” – Heytem Al Ziyani, Head of IT at IIG Bank https://vimeo.com/1094014151/8b8361059c Interview with IIG Bank 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. https://vimeo.com/1094014151/8b8361059c Interview with IIG Bank 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). • 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. “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 “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 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 “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 “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 “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 Real-time payments, real business impact “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 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. 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. 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. 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. “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 logo bahwan cybertech 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. Learn more about BCT 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. logo bahwan cybertech BCT is an exclusive sales and delivery partner for all Temenos products and solutions in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan. Learn more about BCT https://vimeo.com/1094014151/8b8361059c Interview with IIG Bank • 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. Flexibility – the competitive edge “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 A smarter future “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. Learn more about BCT https://vimeo.com/1094014151/8b8361059c Interview with IIG Bank 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. “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 “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 logo bahwan cybertech 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. Learn more about BCT Learn more about BCT We partnered successfully with: logo bahwan cybertech BCT is an exclusive sales and delivery partner for all Temenos products and solutions in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan. Learn more about BCT BCT is an exclusive sales and delivery partner for all Temenos products and solutions in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan. Learn more about BCT logo bahwan cybertech BCT is an exclusive sales and delivery partner for all Temenos products and solutions in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan. Learn more about BCT Watch video

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.

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.

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.