Barko chooses Temenos to power bank ambitions
South African microfinance institution Barko Financial Services has chosen Temenos software to support its ambition to launch a retail bank, reports Jane Connolly.
Temenos sees success in South Africa
Barko Financial Services has replaced its core and front office legacy systems with cloud-native, cloud-agnostic core banking software Temenos T24 Transact and digital banking product Temenos Infinity.
The aim is to reduce costs, improve operational efficiencies and accelerate product-to-market timelines for Barko, which has applied for a banking licence. With 170 branches, the institution serves millions of lower-income South Africans such as government employees, mineworkers and civil servants.
Temenos’ software will enable Barko to significantly slash onboarding and loan application times and offer rural customers digital banking via their mobile devices.
“We selected Temenos’ packaged and open banking software to transform our customer experience, offer personalised products and services and drastically lower our total cost of ownership,” says Barko Financial Services CEO, Kobus de Wet.
“With Temenos, we will be able to launch capabilities faster, if we get approval to establish a bank, and provide innovative products which are simple to use and tailored to add value to our target customers. We wish to offer lower-income customers a personalised experience that is typically reserved for private clients.”
Barko Financial Services is expected to go live with Temenos software in six months.
