Challenger bank BFC edges towards 2018 launch
Let’s get ready to rumble… UK banking style
BFC Bank, a subsidiary of the Bahrain Financing Company money transfer group, has completed its mobilisation process and is preparing for a launch in early 2018.
As reported last year, BFC received authorisation from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
After an initial “soft launch” for selected companies (such as SMEs and payment service providers [PSPs]), the bank says it intends to go live in early 2018 as full members of the UK Faster Payments Scheme.
The bank says it will offer “low-cost basic corporate banking products with a strong emphasis on international transactions and multi-currency cash management as well as UK domestic payments”.
BFC Bank’s CEO, David Price, adds that it plans to “become the ‘go-to’ partner for SMEs and PSPs”.
For its technology, BFC will be using an outsourced “bank in a box” version of ERI’s Olympic core banking system. The system is hosted by Blue Chip. BFC is the first and only taker of ERI’s “bank in a box” offering to the UK’s banking sector.
BFC Bank forms part of BFC Group, a provider of currency exchange and wholesale currency services. It has traded in the UK as BFC Exchange since 2003 and continues to provide a retail remittance service under this brand name.
BFC Group also operates international exchange houses in Bahrain, Kuwait, India and Malaysia. Its history dates from 1917 when BFC was established in Bahrain to trade in gold bullion and currency exchange. BFC Exchange currently runs 15 retail branches in London and online.
There’s more! Many more… Banking Technology has put together a comprehensive list of the known UK bank challengers to date and the technology they are using.
