Africa


InvestCloud wins deal with South African wealth manager

US-based InvestCloud has a spring(bok) in its step as it has been appointed by South Africa’s Anchor Private Clients to provide digital client communication and client reporting solutions. Johannesburg-headquartered Anchor Private Clients, the private client division of Anchor Group, specialises in investment management and advice for private clients across South Africa and internationally. Its parent […]

Trio triumph in Innotribe’s African start-up challenge

Innotribe, Swift’s innovation arm, has revealed the three winners of its third 2017 Startup Challenge for Africa in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Each start-up receives a €10,000 cash prize and will share their insights about innovation in Africa at Sibos in Toronto. The trio are: IroFit Technologies – offers small businesses processing for in-store mobile/card payments […]

Mobile money could make Africa the new boss

Samsung Pay has officially launched in the UK, continuing the evolution of the digital economy, but does this technology have the potential to disrupt the global pecking order?

Middle East and Africa the world’s fastest growing payment cards region

The Middle East and Africa (MEA) is the payment cards region increasing the quickest across the globe, according to research by Retail Banking Research (RBR). According to RBR’s Global Payment Cards Data and Forecasts to 2021, the number of cards in issue in MEA increased by 13% to 611 million in 2015, making it the […]

Innotribe unveils ten start-ups for Africa challenge

Innotribe, Swift’s innovation arm, has named the ten firms who will compete in its Start-up Challenge Africa. The start-ups will pitch their products in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on 17 May 2017 during Swift’s African Regional Conference. Innotribe evaluated close to 100 applications received for the third edition of the Startup Challenge in Africa. The applications […]

2017: South Africa – blockchain fizzle or sizzle?

While the maturity of blockchain discussions and advances are at different stages of development around the world, blockchain is said to be at the height of the Gartner hype cycle. This implies that 2017 will be the year where disillusionment with the technology begins. However, 2017 may also see some real breakthroughs with its application and the emergence of pockets of the first concrete results.

Central Bank of Lesotho overhauls tech with Intellect Design Arena

The Central Bank of Lesotho has gone live on Intellect Design Arena’s Quantum Central Banking Solution (QCBS). According to India-based Intellect, the “key highlight was an accelerated implementation with zero errors during migration despite complex integration with multiple external interfaces”. Mothetsi Sekoati, head of business solution at Central Bank of Lesotho, says the project is […]

The Monday mindset: 10 April 2017

Fintech zeitgeist! Every Monday, we might look back at last week; look ahead to this week; share a few thoughts (our own or others); or discuss anything that catches our eye. This week, Banking Technology’s deputy editor Antony Peyton briefly reflects on last week’s visit to Morocco for HPS Worldwide’s PowerCARD Users Meeting 2017. At […]

HPS Worldwide’s PowerCARD 2017: no fintech firm is an island

Morocco-based payments firm HPS Worldwide is setting its sights on growth through the use of APIs and extensive collaboration with start-ups. At its PowerCARD Users Meeting 2017, held 5-7 April, in the lively city of Marrakesh – about 400 people from over 50 countries listened to presentations from the company and its partners. The message […]

NLS and KCB Bank in court over tech use

Kenya-based banking tech provider and integrator NLS Banking Solutions is seeking an injunction against Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) for software infringement rights.

Commercial Bank of Africa goes Loop-y for millennial entrepreneurs

Kenya-based Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) has unveiled its mobile-based banking service as it targets millennial entrepreneurs. The new service, created in collaboration with software provider Strands, is called CBA Loop and core banking services will be available on the mobile phone app. Users can manage their personal finances, send money, schedule utility bills payments, […]

Kenya Bankers Association unveils real-time interbank switch

Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) has launched its real-time interbank switch, PesaLink, and kicked off a phased rollout of the digital payments platform. The product has been in the making since 2013, when KBA member banks decided to create their own industrywide switch to rival the M-Pesa services. KBA vice-chairman John Gachora says PesaLink is “proof […]

2017: the year fintech shifts its focus to Africa

Africa is becoming a very interesting fintech innovation hub (in particular South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt). As much as 80% of the continent is unbanked, opening the door to a breadth of opportunities for fintech companies to seize market share.

Innotribe start-up challenge returns to Africa

Swift Innotribe’s “Start-up Challenge for Africa” is open for applications. For the third year running, the challenge will be part of Swift’s African Regional Conference (ARC) held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, from 16-18 May 2017. ARC typically attracts up to 500 delegates from around 40 countries, according to Swift. It offers the usual mix of […]

Ecobank launches fintech challenge for start-ups

Pan-African banking conglomerate Ecobank has launched a fintech challenge for start-ups. The event, open to Africa’s entrepreneurs, innovators and developers, provides an opportunity to win $500,000 in funding as well as partner with Ecobank and roll out services across 36 countries.

ICSFS gains new core banking client in Ghana, BOND Savings and Loans

BOND Savings and Loans, a Ghana-based financial services company, has selected new core banking software provider and system as it is aiming to become a fully-fledged bank in 2017. ICS Financial Systems (ICSFS) has won the contract to supply its flagship ICS Banks system to BOND.

Beige Capital in Temenos T24 core banking revamp

Ghana-based Beige Capital Savings and Loans (BCSL) is in the final stages of rolling out Temenos’ T24 core banking system. The T24 project formally kicked off in February this year, after the November 2015 launch of BCSL’s new technology centre in Accra. During that same period consultants from Temenos and London-based systems integrator Jethro were […]

HDB in Egypt live with Temenos T24 core banking system

Housing and Development Bank (HDB) in Egypt has gone live with new core banking software, Temenos’ T24. The new system ousted an in-house legacy development that “had been deeply customised to cater for HDB’s specific requirements”, according to Temenos.

Streamlining payments industry in Africa

The economy of the future will need a vastly different platform for making payments. Consumers and corporations will need access to easier, faster and flexible platforms. I have entered the market with the bold objective of bringing to South Africa and Africa, the revolutions underway in global payments infrastructure – and the necessity of re-design to keep up with the “payments Joneses”.

Sterling Bank live with new core banking system, Temenos’ T24

Nigeria-based Sterling Bank has gone live with a new core banking system – Temenos’ T24 – in a “big-bang” switchover. The new platform was rolled out across the entire branch network of Sterling – 185 locations. The platform is used to support all main retail and corporate operations of the bank. Temenos refers to the […]

Ecobank launches unified mobile app in Africa

Pan-African banking group Ecobank has launched its Ecobank Mobile App across the continent – the “first unified app delivered by any institution for use in 33 countries”. Ecobank says the app will give it the “scale and capacity” to achieve its target of attaining 100 million customers. Ecobank Group CEO Ade Ayeyemi says the app […]

Sibos 2016: De-risking in Africa

Correspondent banking enables banks to access products and services which might otherwise be unavailable. By enabling cross-border transactions and access to overseas products, correspondent banking plays an important role in the global payments landscape, states Swift.

BGFI Bank picks Wolters Kluwer’s OneSumX for regulatory reporting

BGFI Bank, the Gabon-based financial services conglomerate, has chosen Wolters Kluwer’s OneSumX regulatory reporting software for its French and European banking authority reporting obligations. The bank is also using the firm’s Regulatory Update Service. This service is maintained by Wolters Kluwer experts who actively monitor regulation in approximately 50 countries, “helping to ensure the solution […]