“We’re from IBM and we’re here to help” is something fintech followers will have to start getting used to.
The “tech startup from New York” as it called itself during its Finovate debut this spring is the choice of China’s Fujian Rural Credit (FJRC), which is enhancing its online and cloud-based banking offerings. FJRC will use IBM’s storage infrastructure solution, Spectrum Virtualize, to help deploy financial apps for the province’s more than 14 million agricultural workers and consumers.
Pictured: Rob Stanich, global wealth management offering manager, and Alex Baghdjian, senior offering associate, financial markets and wealth management, demonstrated IBM’s Client Insight for Wealth Management at FinovateSpring 2016.
The new technology will enable FJRC to offer better customer service via mobile service vehicles and to provide more direct service through convenient service outlets and mobile banking. FJRC currently provides both commercial and retail banking services by way of 67 rural credit unions; 1,800 outlets; and more than 11,000 micro-payment locations. Spectrum Virtualize works by managing all storage resources from one virtual location, which accelerates data transfer, remote mirroring, and automated application deployment.
IBM has been an increasingly visible part of the fintech world. Watson, its artificial intelligence technology, has been leveraged by fintech innovators such as fellow Finovate alums Novabase and TipRanks. And earlier this year, IBM announced opening IBM “Blockchain Garages” in Singapore, Tokyo, London, and New York City to encourage collaboration between IBM’s technologists and local developers. Blockchain services and advanced credit risk analysis, a.k.a. BigCredit, are two areas of focus for IBM’s research in China.
Founded in 1911 and based in Armonk, New York, IBM demonstrated its Client Insight for Wealth Management solution at FinovateSpring 2016. The company has 300,000 employees and produced revenues of more than $81 billion in 2015. Virginia M. “Ginni” Rometty is chairwoman, president, and CEO.