IBS Journal May 2015
The land of opportunity
What has been happening in the Canadian banking and financial services software market over the last three years? Where have large banks been directing their investment when it comes to technology and what have been the priorities for smaller players?
Putting aside the hype of the impending arrival of Apple Pay to Canada, there are plenty of other less ‘sexy’ projects on the go, netting business for both international and domestic banking software suppliers. In the small- and mid-tier space, domestic suppliers continue to dominate (unsurprisingly), although the market has responded well to an outsider, Temenos, and its T24 core banking offering. Over the last three years, this vendor has onboarded five financial institutions, including Cana- dian Western Bank (CWB), Caisse Financial Group and FirstOntario Credit Union. CWB embarked on the T24 implemen-
tation in early 2012, with a 2014 go-live tar- get in mind. In CWB’s latest annual report, the bank’s president and CEO, Chris Fowler, described the deployment of a new core banking system as ‘the most significant technology investment we’ve ever under- taken’. On the way out is CGI’s RFS core system. The bank hopes that the new plat- form will allow its teams ‘to spend less time on paperwork and more time focusing on
building relationships’ with its customers. Fowler stated in the report that ‘the project continues to go very well’. The budget and the timelines had to be revised, however. Following the completion of the analysis and design phase, it was increased from an initial estimate of CA$50 million ($40.8 million) to CA$62 million ($50.6 million). Go-live is now scheduled for ‘early fiscal 2016’.
Meanwhile, FirstOntario CU is among
the most recent recruits, having signed in Q4 2014 for a broad range of Temenos’ products, including business intelligence and channel banking solutions (see p46 for further details). It is replacing Fiserv’s Sig- nature core system, which the credit union believes to be not strategic for its suppli- er in Canada. Indeed, Signature has very little presence in the country and with the conversion of FirstOntario, penned for next year, it will be left with just one major user here, CIBC. However, Fiserv has a considerably
‘[Deployment of a new core banking system is] the most significant technology investment we’ve ever undertaken.’
Chris Fowler, Canadian Western Bank
larger market share in Canada with its DNA system, which stems from the acquired Open Solutions. Prior to the takeover by Fiserv in early 2013, Open Solutions had scooped up nearly 40 per cent of the lower end market, directly, as well as via a tie-up with local vendor, Celero Solutions. Celero, which is a joint venture of three regional credit union associations and Concentra Financial (a credit union solutions provid- er), markets the DNA system as Eroworks. Between the two of them, Celero and Open Solutions claimed around 150 entities as clients. Now under Fiserv, DNA continues to sell in Canada, by and large by Celero rather than directly by Fiserv. Furthermore, Celero is also offering
conversions to Eroworks/DNA from Fiserv’s sunsetted system, Acumen. Fiserv devel-
44 © IBS Intelligence 2015
www.ibsintelligence.com
country spotlight: canada
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