July 2024: Top five core banking stories of the month
With the rapid rate of technological change and shifting customer demands, financial institutions across the globe have been looking to modernise their core tech.
Here is our pick of five of the top core banking stories from July, featuring Outpayce, Avidia Bank, Thought Machine, Bank Audi, Q2 and more.
CTBC Bank goes live with Avaloq core in Hong Kong and Singapore after three-year implementation
CTBC Bank goes live with Avaloq core
CTBC Bank, the largest privately owned bank in Taiwan, has gone live with the core banking platform of Swiss financial services software firm Avaloq, concluding a three-year implementation project to digitally transform its private banking operations.
The implementation pertains specifically to the bank’s private banking businesses in Hong Kong and Singapore, and was first announced in September 2021.
Avaloq’s core tech has enabled the businesses to automate a number of functions relating to client relationship management, accounting and compliance.
This includes enhancing front-to-back-office workflows, bolstering risk management with “fully integrated” regulatory checks, and facilitating “more sophisticated investment products and services across jurisdictions”, according to a statement.
Freddie Chen, head of international private banking at CTBC, claims the platform “supports us in further expanding our private banking offering and streamlining operations while ensuring compliance with regulations across different markets”.
Islamic finance start-up Ethos taps Thought Machine for core banking tech
Ethos, a UK-based Islamic and ethical finance start-up, has partnered with core banking vendor Thought Machine to power its provision of mobile-ready “seamless and real-time Shariah-compliant financial solutions”.
The start-up is using the vendor’s cloud-based Vault Core platform to launch a deposit account service and home purchase plan mortgage service in the UK which support Shariah-compliant Mudaraba, and Musharakah and Ijarah structures respectively.
In addition to the core offering, Ethos will also tap the pre-built financial products outlined in Thought Machine’s global Product Library, which consists of “pre-written smart contracts, ranging from current, deposit and credit accounts to multi-currency wallets and Shariah-compliant products”, according to the vendor’s website.
This selection is set to enable Ethos to further customise its offering in line with its “international expansion goals”.
Outpayce selects Mambu to power new multi-currency digital wallet service
Outpayce selects Mambu to power new digital wallet
Outpayce, the travel payments division of Spanish IT group Amadeus, has chosen Mambu’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) cloud banking platform to power its new multi-currency digital wallet service.
The platform will enable the service to handle large transaction volumes and multi-currency accounts, owing to its cloud-native, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) approach.
This is in addition to supporting “electronic fund transfers across a large number of payment schemes”, according to Werner Van Ravesteyn, Outpayce’s head of enterprise products, platforms and services.
“Mambu’s SaaS model means updates to the platform happen in real-time, allowing us to focus on building solutions, while it takes care of the back-end maintenance,” he says.
The implementation is currently underway and is expected to go live “in the coming months”.
Avidia Bank to adopt Personetics’ AI-powered engagement engine through new Q2 Digital Banking Platform
Avidia Bank is set to upgrade its online banking capabilities and operations after selecting a string of digital finance solutions from Personetics and US-based digital transformation solutions provider Q2.
Included in the deal is the Q2 Digital Banking Platform, which supports integrations with the vendor’s fintech partners through the Q2 Innovation Studio and Marketplace solutions.
Among these is AI-powered personalised customer engagement engine Personetics, a Q2 partner since May 2023, which the $2.6 billion-asset mutual community bank will integrate into the platform, along with pre-built widgets, to support “hyper-relevant, real-time insights, advice and savings journeys”.
“This will allow us to provide real-time insights and automated saving plans, helping our customers work toward their goals and financial decisions with confidence, all while creating stickier, deeper relationships with our account holders,” explains Janel Maysonet, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Avidia Bank.
Bank Audi launches new digital bank Neo in Lebanon powered by Codebase Technologies
Avidia Bank partners Q2 for digital banking platform
Bank Audi, the largest bank in Lebanon, has launched a new digital banking offering called Neo by Bank Audi, touted as the country’s first digital bank.
The launch was powered by Codebase Technologies’ Digibanc platform, alongside Lebanese paytech Areeba, identity solutions provider IDWise, A2P messaging platform Infobip, and ITG’s fintech arm Cirrus.
The neobank’s products and services at launch include dual-currency bank accounts (in both US dollars and Lebanese pounds), physical and virtual debit cards, bill payment management tools, and QR code-enabled transfers.
This remit is set to be expanded with a rewards-linked credit card and digital insurance products, which have both been labelled as “coming soon” on Neo’s website.
