the proceedings raised by the Zambia Public Procurement Authority, with a new selection kicking off in early 2014. This time around, the selection ended in success for Infosys with Finacle, within a $2.6 million contract. An initial Rubikon go-live had happened in September 2009 but did not include oŞine branch functionality, with this following in 2010. An audit soon after the cutover flagged issues with data integrity and some modules such as deposits and loans, and there were diŞering accounts as to what extent these issues were resolved. Neptune’s professional services manager, Adeniyi Badejo, claimed that the system ran smoothly from the end of the second year. Nevertheless, the bank decided to replace the system anyway. A source from the bank stated that Natsave ‘needed to migrate to a new core banking system due to the changing business requirements and the need to ensure that it maintains competitiveness’. In the first quarter of 2009, Neptune finally looked to have gained its first non-African taker. This was Bank Monarch, a newly licensed bank in the UK, and part of US-based Bank Monarch Group. It was unwilling to comment, but Hayward said the implementation would begin in earnest in May with a go-live later in the summer if all went to plan. Hayward was optimistic at this time about Neptune’s


prospects for the year. ‘We seem to be one of the few organisations that’s hiring,’ he said, and was hoping for a few more quick wins in Europe. He expected VCB and NatSave to be live in the next three months. A first deal in or around Cambodia and Vietnam was mooted as well via Campura Systems. There was another win in Tanzania, at a start-up, Efatha Bank. The bank planned to open on July 20th 2009, by which date the system was meant to be up and running. From the outset, Rubikon would support retail and commercial operations, general ledger and reporting, said Gothalm Mbele, Efatha’s MD. Later, Rubikon would be expanded to include treasury and trade finance activity, as well as supporting the branch network as the bank grew. The selection lasted around three months and the project team evaluated a number of offerings alongside Rubikon, including Flexcube. Rubikon had a range of ‘competitive advantages’, said Mbele. ‘The system is very robust. It provides an automatic and thus quick and easy end-of-day process, and has a very good reporting engine that includes regulatory reporting.’ He also cited Neptune’s specialists as one of the key reasons for choosing Rubikon. ‘They are good communicators, very open and are always there when we need them. Also, they are experienced both in banking and IT, which is very important.’ Neptune had specialists on site to assist with the implementation and train the users. Efatha was the fourth customer in Tanzania. By late 2009 there were at least three live users of Rubikon,


comprising Efatha, TN Bank and NatSave in Zambia. A win in the first half of the year came at International Leasing and Finance Corporation (ILFCO) in Nepal. It chose Rubikon ahead of bids from Infosys, Temenos and Oracle FSS (I-flex as was), according to Small, now regional sales director of Neptune. In Kosovo, Rubikon was taken by Besëlidhja Zavet


Microfinance (BZMF), which is part of World Relief. It spent about six months choosing a new core, looking at local, regional and international vendors. ‘We were very interested in something which was online,’ explained Derek Wardlaw, managing director of BZMF. Kosovo, he said, operates ‘ethnically-driven internet service providers’. A couple of BZMF’s branches are in ethnically Serb regions and he felt that Rubikon would be the best system to link between the different ISPs.


The only live Rubikon user during the selection process was TN Bank. BZMF was unable to visit, but a conference call was arranged. ‘The advantage we have over the local vendors is the technology – the Java application means we’ve much more flexibility,’ claimed Small, but added that ‘the advantages the local vendors have is they are very close to hand’. Because of this, Neptune was looking for a partner in the region. The project at BZMF was expected to last four months, with only the lending functionality of Rubikon going live. ‘That cuts out a big portion.’ Small stated that BZMF intended to become a retail bank within a year, at which point the rest of the product could be switched on. ‘It’s just a licensing matter as far as we’re concerned.’ Shortly after this success, Neptune won a microfinance deal in neighbouring Macedonia. This was Savings House Mozhnosti, part of the global Opportunity International network. A second microfinance institution to sign was Adehyeman Savings and Loans in Ghana. Also coming Neptune’s way was Berhan International Bank, becoming the first Rubikon taker in Ethiopia. Berhan opened its doors to customers in early October, having completed the first phase of its Rubikon implementation project. This followed a selection process of about three months’ duration, according to Solomon Mammo, director of information systems at the bank. Twelve systems were considered, which were then shortlisted to five. Rubikon was chosen, Mammo said, because it had the newest technology. ‘It is a Java and web-based system, based on open standards,’ he explained. Phase one of the project lasted three weeks, having started in September, and was completed in time for the launch of the bank. ‘We had a detailed plan for implementation, and it frankly went very well,’ said Mammo. Phase two functionality included credits, loans, trade finance, internet banking, ATM and POS. The entire implementation was scheduled to be completed by January 2010. Berhan intended to have ten branches one year after launch, and was targeting 100,000


Universal Banking Systems Market Report | www.ibsintelligence.com 291


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