In Ireland and beyond, the events of 2020 have had a lasting impact on consumer interactions with financial service providers. Previously, Croí Laighean customers preferred to talk person-to-person in a branch; now, 80 percent of interactions are online. For Croí Laighean, the new challenge is how to create a digital presence that rivals the banking giants and emerging fintechs. To achieve this, the credit union will replace its legacy, on-premises systems with an agile model using Temenos community banking solution delivered as a Software-as-a-Service offering. Hosted by Microsoft Azure, the solution will enable Croí Laighean to automate processes and eliminate the cost and complexity of managing infrastructure. The rich functionality will enable the credit union to deliver outstanding digital experiences and personalized services, helping it to compete with larger operators.

We partnered successfully with Microsoft

Microsoft’s Financial Services group helps financial firms leverage technology to amplify the impact their people can deliver to drive business success.

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At a Glance

• 1st Finance company in MEA to run front-to back banking solutions on the Temenos banking cloud.
• Built a new digital bank from scratch in 2 months.
• 1st time in MEA direct interface from the core banking to the central bank without a middle system.
• A leading innovator in the SME market thanks to the new digital capabilities and channels.

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) represent 94 percent of all companies operating in the United Arab Emirates, and play a pivotal role in the country’s prosperity. For these thousands of companies, success often depends on fast access to liquidity—but in many cases, raising loans through traditional banking channels means navigating complex, paperwork-heavy processes..

This is where Al Ain Finance PJSC wants to make banking better. Founded in Abu Dhabi in 2016 and regulated by the Central Bank of the UAE, the company looks to provide simple, transparent, and practical alternative finance solutions—without the usual hassle and hidden costs. With this client-oriented and innovative approach, Al Ain Finance PJSC aims to help SMEs across the Emirates to gain the working capital they need to thrive.

Selecting digital solutions
on the Temenos banking cloud

Since it began operating in 2017, Al Ain Finance built a positive reputation among clients, particularly for its trade finance services. For the next stage of its growth journey, the finance company targeted a broader portfolio, adding enhanced lending, deposits, payments, and digital services. This strategy, Al Ain Finance believed, would help to sharpen its competitive edge, appeal to more potential clients, and win greater market share.

After assessing offerings from several vendors, Al Ain Finance chose Temenos digital and core banking on the Temenos banking cloud to replace its legacy in-house system and achieve end-to-end digital transformation. The front-to-back digital banking offering on Temenos banking cloud will provide the broadest out-of-the-box functionality for Al Ain Finance to deliver differentiated digital experiences to SMEs. The Temenos banking cloud will be hosted on Microsoft Azure and meant that it could be remotely implemented, simplify its digital business model, and drive operational efficiencies.

Going live in a rapid timeframe

Al Ain Finance managed to implement the new core and digital banking platforms within two months— a proposition made more challenging by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Temenos’ cloud-native, technology was delivered remotely on the Temenos banking cloud to allow the business to respond to increasing demand for digital banking during COVID-19 in the quickest possible timeframe. Temenos and Stoics IT provided the expert resources to complete the go-live for loans, fixed deposits, accounts, payments, and liquidity management solutions within the target date. Soon after, the project team added Temenos digital banking internet and mobile banking functionality and is now working to launch check clearing and direct debits.

Setting the standard for digital transformation

With the successful implementation, Al Ain Finance PJSC became one of the first finance companies in the region to harness the latest version of Temenos core banking running in the cloud. In another ground-breaking move, the core platform interfaces directly with the systems of the Central Bank of the UAE to enable clients to make secure, compliant electronic wage transfers. Combined with making banking better by providing SME’s with much needed access to liquidity, fast, we see Al Ain Finance as a true “Changemaker”.

“Even employees with limited experience of modern core systems find the Temenos solutions easy to use,” adds a spokesperson at the bank. “They particularly enjoy being able to access consolidated customer information through a single interface rather than having to click between multiple applications. Although Temenos offers cutting-edge, sophisticated functionality, the learning curve for users was very quick and simple.”

Technology Innovation improving customer experiences

Supported by Temenos, Al Ain Finance achieved its goal of broadening its service portfolio and winning more business among SME clients in the Emirates. The company now offers a comprehensive suite of lending, deposits, and payments products. These include enhanced Wage Protection System (WPS) offerings, which help SMEs to pay their workers in a timely manner, while registering transactions with the Central Bank.

Furthermore, Al Ain Finance now offers clients the flexibility and convenience of managing their accounts via internet or mobile channels. Rather than relying on traditional customer verification methods, the company integrated its digital services with third-party biometric security solutions—enabling clients to use fingerprint and facial recognition to confirm their identity and positioning Al Ain Finance as a leading innovator in the SME market.

Leveraging Technology to drive efficiency

The Temenos solutions also helped Al Ain Finance PJSC to develop faster, more efficient business processes. For example, users previously created reports manually using spreadsheets to collate data. With Temenos core banking, the company can generate reports at the click of a button, ensuring business leaders gain insights into market trends sooner, and enabling employees to focus more time and energy on value-add tasks.

A spokesperson at the bank concludes: “Working with Temenos has been a great experience. Whichever direction that we take, we know that Temenos will provide the solutions, expertise, and implementation support to ensure our success. It is a great partnership, and we look forward to the next stage of the journey.”

As part of its digital transformation program, Bank of Queensland unveiled a technology strategy that will drive differentiated customer experiences and sustainable growth through its subsidiary, Virgin Mobile Australia.

Virgin Group Founder, Sir Richard Branson comments: “Virgin Money Australia has an ambition to challenge the status quo in the financial services industry. The new Virgin Money Australia digital bank is the antithesis of a traditional bank: it embraces simplicity and rejects the notion of financial complexity. At the core of the Virgin DNA is a challenger spirit, which brings competition to every industry we enter. I am so proud of the Virgin Money Australia team for living and breathing our DNA when designing and building the new digital bank, and keeping the customer at the heart of their decision-making.”

Virgin Money Australia leverages Temenos’ front-to-back offering with Temenos core banking, the next generation in core banking and Temenos digital banking, the leading omnichannel digital banking product, on the Temenos Banking Cloud. Accessing the solution through a subscription model, Virgin Money Australia will be able to scale usage based on its business growth.

The new Digital Bank has gone live on Temenos modern cloud-based core banking platform, which provides a frictionless and fully integrated digital experience, bringing together credit cards, transaction and savings accounts, plus a loyalty program in a single, native mobile app. Through the modern app, consumers can open an account in minutes.

Since its foundation in 1982, Arab Tunisian Bank (ATB) has carved out a position as a top five bank in Tunisia by offering award-winning retail and corporate products. The bank has recently gone live on Temenos open platform for composable banking looking to transform its banking infrastructure to capitalize on the new digital age. ATB is a mid-sized universal bank serving retail, SME and corporate customers with a staff of 1,300 and 134 branches across the country, awarded as the “Best Commercial Bank in Tunisia” by Global Banking & Finance.

The initial phase of the transformation of its core banking systems for retail and corporate business lines with Temenos frees the bank from legacy constraints to accelerate product delivery and digital growth. The second phase of the implementation includes additional Temenos Core Banking Capabilities and pre-composed Banking Services for Digital Banking, Payments and Enterprise Risk Management. On Temenos open platform, it aims to differentiate itself in the market as a customer-centric bank through technology and innovation. Leveraging the platform’s core and digital banking capabilities to power new growth opportunities, drive efficiencies at scale, and deliver seamless customer experiences.

ATB is a mid-sized universal bank serving retail, SME and corporate customers with a staff of 1,300 and 134 branches across the country, In 2017, the bank was also awarded the “Best Commercial Bank in Tunisia” by Global Banking & Finance. With demand for online and mobile banking rising rapidly in North Africa, Temenos’ next-generation platform, built on microservices and APIs, will allow ATB to quickly and sustainably scale its business. Cloud-native and with an ecosystem built around it, the Temenos platform also enables ATB to open up to fintechs and the possibilities of new business models in the future.

We partnered successfully with ITSSA:

ITSS provides high-quality services for banks with Temenos Transact in parts of Africa, Middle East, Asia and Latin America.

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