Equity Bank, one of the largest commercial banks in Africa, and Infosys, a global leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing, today announced the successful upgrade of the bank’s core banking solution to Finacle 10. The enhanced solution will allow over 8.7 million Equity Bank customers to transact seamlessly across five countries- Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and South Sudan. Finacle will help the bank roll out offerings faster, explore new lines of business and deliver a superior banking experience to its customers.

 Highlights:

• Equity Bank’s multi-country operations now run on a single instance of Finacle, which is deployed centrally. This helps the Bank save on infrastructure and maintenance costs, while ensuring a 360 degree view of customer relationships
• A unified view of customers allows the Bank to offer personalised products and services at competitive prices
• Seamless integration across multiple channels and third party systems has facilitated productivity improvements across the bank. Cheque processing time has reduced by 30 percent, and new accounts can be opened in less than five minutes
• The 24X7 functionality of the new solution has reduced the time taken to complete end-of-day operations by over two hours
• Equity Bank has also improved its regulatory reporting and created a robust management information system to enable effective business decision making
• The upgraded solution integrates seamlessly with Finacle Treasury and E-banking deployed at the Bank
• The complex, five- country implementation was completed in a short period of less than 12 months

James Mwangi, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Equity Bank

“Equity Bank has led the way in fostering financial inclusion. We have created products and services for customers across all segments, starting from the bottom of the pyramid. Our vision is to empower our customers and grow with them to champion the socio-economic prosperity of the people of Africa. Infosys has been an integral partner for over a decade and with Finacle 10, we look forward to taking new offerings to our customers faster and grow our market share.”

 Venkatramana Gosavi, Vice President and Regional Head, Finacle, Infosys

 “Africa is experiencing rapid economic growth. It is imperative that banks take advantage of modern technology to realise their true potential in this dynamically growing market. We are privileged to have been a part of the success story that Equity Bank has scripted over the past decade. Our journey with Equity Bank is a great example of how financial institutions can accelerate growth and delight customers with the right technology foundation.”

 About Equity Bank

Equity Bank is the leading inclusive bank in Africa by customer base, with over 8.7 million bank accounts which is over 50 % of all bank accounts in Kenya and has operations in Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda and Tanzania. The Bank is listed in Nairobi Securities Exchange and Uganda Securities Exchange. The vision of Equity Bank Ltd is to champion the social economic prosperity of the people of Africa while its purpose is to transform the lives and livelihoods of the people socially and economically by availing them modern, inclusive financial services that maximize their opportunities.

Equity Bank has been a leader in financial innovation. It was the first bank to introduce the EMV compliant ATM cards in the country and played a lead role in championing agency banking in Kenya that continues to demystify banking by taking financial services to the door steps of citizens in Kenya, Rwanda South Sudan and Tanzania. In 2011, Equity Bank was named Africa’s Most Innovative Bank by the African Banker for championing delivery channels that have taken financial services to the last mile.

 www.equitybankgroup.com