Banco Macro opts for cloud
Argentina’s Banco Macro will use the Mambu cloud as the basis for a new business unit, which will offer loans to micro-enterprises and small businesses.
The bank’s new Alumbra initiative plans to offer loans of $250-$6000, starting in Salta, one of Argentina’s poorest northern regions. The aim is to provide a lifeline to areas that have historically lacked access to financial services. The bank hopes to reach 6000 unique clients and disburse $3.5 million in loans by 2017 via six branches, with further expansion planned.
Mambu already has become associated with efforts to bring financial services to the unbanked and underserved parts of the world such as Mexico and South America. The company was created in 2011 and provides a core banking platform and related services such as customer relationship management in the cloud. It is already used by firms such as South American small loans company Kueski to provide the technology and computing power for its loans business. Mambu is powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS).
“Instead of building their own infrastructure, the bank is using Mambu,” said Eugene Danilkis, co-founder and chief executive at Mambu. “Cloud is becoming demystified. We see ourselves as the SalesForce of the banking world. With us, small banks can have the same level of IT as the big banks. It’s also a platform that allows the customer to bring in other cloud technologies and integrate them easily.”
Danilkis added that despite its association with emerging markets, Mambu doesn’t specifically focus on any single geographical area and largely relies on word of mouth to gain new business. Mambu was also behind My Community Bank, the UK’s first online-only credit union, which launched earlier this year. He believes that the cloud can offer a convincing and compelling alternative to in-house development, and that ultimately even the world’s largest banks would struggle to provide the kind of service that can be developed through Mambu and its partner, AWS.
“One of the reasons we are pushing for cloud solutions like Amazon is because they provide the best service,” he said. “We looked at private clouds, but if you look at their internal audits and data security, there is a reason they spend billions on it: they have by far the best product. “
