Eurobank Group is to overhaul its core and digital banking with Temenos’ T24 Transact and T24 Infinity, reports Martin Whybrow of Fintech Futures (Finovate’s sister publication).

The project will cover the group’s international operations. It will start in Cyprus, with the intention of swiftly moving on to Eurobank Private Bank Luxemburg, with Eurobank Bulgaria AD (Postbank) and Eurobank AD Beograd (Serbia) also on the roadmap.

The project comprises a full IT renovation program. The bank has also taken Temenos’ WealthSuite for Cyprus and Luxembourg, with the aim of reducing time-to-market for new products and services and improving automation of its private banking operations.

Also in the mix is Temenos Analytics to support Eurobank’s marketing campaigns. Development tools, which will use the T24 APIs, are intended to speed up building and deploying applications around the core.

In terms of the initial project in Cyprus, Stavros Ioannou, deputy CEO and group COO, Eurobank, said: “We look forward to this cooperation, as this is the first stage in the wider implementation of Temenos banking software across the group.” He described the project as supporting the bank’s “vital digital transformation journey” which is intended to shape “advanced relationships” and provide customers with “high quality service and a vast variety of innovative and tailor made products.”

The bank currently uses a range of legacy international and Greek packages, including Oracle FSS’s Flexcube in Serbia and CSoft’s VCSBank++ in Bulgaria, FinTech Futures understands. The holding group is Greece-based EFG Eurobank Ergasias.

Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, Temenos participated in our developers conference, FinDEVr Silicon Valley, in 2015. The company is also an alum of our Finovate conferences, demonstrating its Connect Mobile Banking solution at FinovateEurope – also in 2015.

In other Temenos news, the company announced a partnership with Pakistan-based Bank of Khyber, which will also deploy Temenos’ T24 Transact and Infinity solutions.

National Data Consultants (NDC), Temenos’ partner in the region, was selected as the system integrator for the project.

Government-owned Bank of Khyber embarked on new core banking software search in 2018, as reported by FinTech Futures, looking for new tech to support its network of 166 domestic branches (including 84 Islamic banking branches).

Temenos and NDC were selected “after a thorough due diligence process,” according to Muhammad Azfar Latif, CIO, Bank of Khyber.

“We hope to turn this bank as a model for other industry players locally and internationally,” he said.

Saif Ul Islam, MD and CEO, Bank of Khyber, believes the new technology will enable the bank “to have a strong footing on the digital platforms.” It also meets “the bank’s strategic long-term plans in increasing operational efficiency,” he added.

Jean-Paul Mergeai, MD, Temenos Middle East and Africa, said Bank of Khyber has become the thirteenth bank in Pakistan to join the vendor’s client list. Other T24 Transact users in the country include Khushhali Bank, State Bank of Pakistan, Silkbank, Soneri Bank, and Meezan Bank.

Banking technology vendor Temenos is partnering with UBX to deliver digital banking to millions of unbanked and underserved customers in the Philippines, reports Jane Connolly of Fintech Futures, Finovate’s sister publication.

The fintech subsidiary of UnionBank of the Philippines, UBX has developed a range of plug-and-play services to help rural banks reach customers in remote communities.

These include the blockchain-based i2i turnkey solution, which connects rural banks to each other and to the Philippines’ main financial networks.

Having partnered with Temenos, UBX can now offer core banking software to its partner financial institutions, through Temenos T24 Transact.

Temenos says its cloud-native, cloud-agnostic, API-first banking software will provide greater levels of agility and scalability for rural banks, cooperatives and microfinance institutions.

“At UBX, our mission is to build platforms that bring businesses and people together,” says John Januszczak, CEO of UBX. “As part of that, we provide access to needed technology and services while connecting communities.

“The rural banking community in the Philippines has been championing financial inclusion for decades. Temenos will help us provide the most tailored, innovative and advanced core banking solution to our rural banking customers.”

The partnership aims to deliver digital banking to millions of people over the next five years.

Founded in 1993, Temenos debuted its Connect Mobile Banking application at FinovateEurope 2015 in London. With clients in 145+ countries, Temenos employs more than 4,600 people in 63 offices. The company has a market capitalization of $12.5 billion.