Atom Bank adds another system to its tech set-up; readies mobile app
Atom Bank is expanding its IT set-up
UK challenger bank, Atom Bank, has added another solution to its burgeoning IT architecture.
This is a lending system from domestic specialist provider Phoebus Software, Banking Technology understands.
The bank has just launched, but is yet to launch a fully-fledged mobile app. The app is yet to be available on Android. Meanwhile, the iOS app has not been rated highly.
Atom Bank assures Banking Technology that there are no issues with the app, it’s just in the build stage at present. “We are building and testing the Android version,” the bank says.
As for the low ratings of the iOS app, the bank feels that it is not a true representation of the app “as it is a view from some based on only the ‘play zone’ section of the app rather than the full functionality”.
The bank’s spokesperson adds: “We are constantly updating and listening to what people are saying to make sure we deliver the best possible experience for our customers.”
The bank has just started enrolling pre-registered users by sending them “invitation codes”. However, this is not going smoothly either.
In the latest email sent out to potential customers (5th May 2016), Mark Mullen, CEO of Atom Bank, says: “We know you are waiting for your invitation code and we have started to send them out, just slowly. This is helping us learn, test and revise.
“We’re going to up the pace at which we send out the codes when the next version of the app is ready. It’s being tested as we speak and we’ll get it out to you as soon as we can.
We know we’re going to get a few things wrong along the way, but we’re also going to get a lot right.”
All about tech
Atom Bank has already built up a substantial technology environment, which one could argue includes a number of legacy systems.
For its core processing, the bank is using FIS’s Profile core banking system.
For treasury and risk management, it has signed for Sungard’s Ambit Quantum (Sungard is now part of FIS). It has also implemented Ambit Focus for application lifecycle management, liquidity risk and funds transfer pricing.
It was the first taker of the latest version of Mortgage Sales & Origination (MSO) suite, supplied by Iress. The MSO platform supports Atom’s mortgage business, front-to-back office.
To manage its UK and European Banking Authority regulatory reporting requirements, Atom has Wolters Kluwer Financial Services’ OneSumX.
For its digital banking needs, the bank works with Intelligent Environments (IE), a local front-end software supplier.
For security, it uses CSC’s ConfidentID system. This mobile user authentication service allows Atom’s clients to use biometric information, face and voice recognition, to access their accounts.
Then there is WDS Virtual Agent, an AI bot within the bank’s mobile app that answers customer queries.
And earlier this year, the bank acquired a local digital design agency, Grasp. Grasp’s founder, Brian Jobling, is now Atom’s business development director. The rationale for this acquisition is “to create the most engaging user experience in banking”, according to the bank.
