Digital banking is playing an increasingly pivotal role in shaping the future of financial services across Africa. Now, Zimbabwe’s AFC Commercial Bank has announced a partnership with Intellect Global Consumer Banking (iGCB).
Using iGCB’s core banking offering, Intellect Digital Core (IDC), the bank is looking to facilitate its end-to-end banking transformation and modernise its banking operations.
Better customer experiences
In an environment where emerging technology has increased competition, AFC Commercial Bank must offer services that are “head and shoulders” above other market players, says Ken Chitando, managing director at AFC Commercial Bank.
Customer experiences must be addressed, Mr Chitando says, given that client account mismatches presented a key challenge for the bank. The Intellect-AFC Commercial Bank partnership aims to reduce client mismatches.
Using IDC’s core banking solution, AFC Commercial Bank is looking to deliver an omnichannel customer experience, as well as providing better management of personal finances to customers through features such as goal-based savings and spend analysis services.
“AI will drive the future of the business. This solution positions us to optimise client information and develop a positive feedback mechanism so that we have products that respond to clients’ needs,” Mr Chitando says.
The technology uses the world’s largest open finance architecture, eMACH.ai (events-driven, microservices-based, API, cloud, headless with underlying AI models), says iGCB CEO Rajesh Saxena.
“Core banking is the heart of a bank,” he says, adding that the partnership offers AFC Commercial Bank ”huge benefits” from the perspective of go-to-market strategy, product development, revenue opportunity, acquiring new customers and digitisation.
Changing landscape
Mr Saxena describes Africa as a strategic market where the banking industry has “evolved tremendously in the past few years”. As such, banks across the continent are increasingly looking for technology platforms that can help progressively transform in line with market needs.
He adds that digitisation is “ultimately about the ability to be able to bring a bank to many people and increasing financial inclusion”.
Using IDC offers customers complete control of their banking experience through an enhanced user interface and develops the bank’s end-to-end digital lending.
In developing financial inclusion, access to credit should also be addressed, Mr Saxena says. Technology will allow banks to reach customers with little to no credit history and who are currently more excluded from the market.
Looking at credit markets across Africa today, Mr Saxena asks: “How do we make use of alternative sources of data?” IDC’s underlying architecture provides a framework for this, he says. “We have to come together and create the right ecosystem for the bank, a marketplace really. Right now we are in the process of implementation.”
Bank-fintech partnerships and the industry’s wider digital transformation will reduce the reliance on cash and improve financial inclusion in Africa, Mr Chitando says.
“Currently in Zimbabwe and a number of African markets, the use of cash remains prevalent. I see this collaboration providing a basis upon which we can start using digital forms of transacting, reaching out to a greater part of the population,” he says.
As part of this, AFC Commercial Bank is currently working on a separate digital wallet initiative which will “revolutionise the transfer transactional payments system”, Mr Chitando says. “From the phone, customers can dial in via [unstructured supplementary service data], open an account and begin their transactions.”
In its partnership with iGCB, AFC Commercial Bank aims to finalise its migration to the new system by June 2024.
Source link : https://www.thebanker.com/AFC-Commercial-Bank-enhances-its-end-to-end-banking-transformation-1698391641
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Publish date : 2023-10-27 03:00:00
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