IBS Journal July – August 2015


Kenya Commercial Bank in major core banking software upgrade


Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), the largest financial services group in Kenya, is em- barking on an enterprise-wide initiative to upgrade its core banking system, Temenos’ T24. KCB is a long-standing user of the sys- tem at home (at the head office and across the 200+ branch network) as well as in its international locations, comprising Rwan- da, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. The relationship with the vendor has


been far from smooth over the years, and at one point a possibility of the T24 replace- ment was voiced. The original deal dates back to 2007. A number of integrators and consultants have worked with the bank over time, including Sofgen and Cognizant. However, it is understood that the


replacement is no longer on the cards and the bank is sticking with T24, having decid- ed to move to the latest version, R14. Avi Mitra, CIO of KCB, describes the project


as ‘a new implementation’ rather than an upgrade. The bank is moving from a heav- ily customised version of T24 R8 to the


Nairobi © Sarah Owermohle, Flickr


model bank version, he explains. The work is expected to last 15 to 18 months, and is going to be carried out with the help of Capgemini. The system will be interfaced to the SAP Business Objects software for analytics and Misys’ Fusioncapital Kondor for the treasury and capital markets oper- ations. Other systems at KCB include Chi- na Systems’ Eximbills for trade finance, the CreditQuest risk management system from D+H Corporation (formerly Harland Finan- cial Solutions), NetGuardians’ behaviour analysis software and the Tranzware pay- ments suite from Compass Plus. In parallel, the bank is working on a


number of projects in the digital banking and agency banking sectors, says Mitra. Meanwhile, another T24 user in Africa,


Tropical Bank in Uganda, is pondering an upgrade to T24 R14. The bank is current- ly on R9.


Small World FS and Bharti Airtel forge cross-border mobile wallet funds transfer agreement


Payment services provider, Small World FS, and Indian telco, Bharti Airtel, have entered into a partnership to allow the former’s customers to send money to Airtel Money wallet customers in Africa. This capability will be rolled out gradually, as the Airtel Money wallet capability becomes available. The first countries are expected to be Kenya, Niger, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with ultimately 17 countries covered. UK-based Small World, which is owned


by FF&P Private Equity, is a specialist in cross-border funds transfer, with a pay- out network spanning 250,000+ locations. It has its own core transaction platform, Omnex, which will be hooked into the technology of Airtel’s partner, ImpalaPay. Small World already has a lot of busi-


ness in Africa, in part through tie-ups with individual banks for receipt of funds directly into bank accounts and distribution via their outlets. Earlier this year, Small World also signed a partnership to send money to the


Nick Day, Small World FS


partners to develop the cross-border flows. He points out that, at present, the share of the cross-border market for mobile wallets is still very small compared to traditional means. Successful deployment needs involve-


mobile wallets of African mobile operator, MTN Group. MTN claims its wallet is used by more than 22 million customers in 16 Afri- can countries. Small World and MTN expect to activate the first country shortly, likely to be Rwanda, and with others to follow quite quickly, says Small World CEO, Nick Day. Day says the telco operators have typi-


cally built up reasonable uptake for domestic activity so are now looking for international


© IBS Intelligence 2015


ment from all parties, including regulators, banks and those with the physical networks, says Day. One challenge is the economic one, with telco operators often wanting high- er margins than is feasible. ‘There are huge flows with small margins and telco operators are not necessarily familiar with the model and want more than there is to give.’ As the mobile wallets become increas-


ingly useful, so more people are likely to want to send money to them, Day points out. While African countries are largely ‘receive’ markets, there are outbound flows as well and there are discussions about two- way flows but this is not a priority. ‘There are discussions to have it work both ways but phase one is definitely inbound. Receiving is easier than sending and is the major flow.’


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