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Dela Wordsmith - June 19, 2021 0

As the second half of 2021 approaches and Covid-19 vaccinations roll out across the globe, albeit at varying rates, Ian Lessem, Managing Partner at...

HSBC switches to Recycled Plastic Payment Cards

Dela Wordsmith - May 6, 2021 0

Transition will reduce CO2 emissions by 161 tonnes a year, and save 73 tonnes of plastic per year HSBC is announcing a new programme to introduce...

By Clinton Scott, managing director at TechSoft International Fintechs understand the importance of being customer-centric. In fact, 90% of organisations cite enhanced customer experience as vital to their competitive advantage. Differentiation is therefore not about the products and service offered but rather the end-user experience delivered. People are quick to complain about service delivery more than cite good banking or insurance products. Sadly, only 17% of traditional bank executives feel well and truly prepared for a customer-centric model. Open banking matters Traditional banking companies risk losing profits to tech-savvy competitors if they do not innovate and embrace new technologies. In South Africa, banks are under pressure to act fast, given the emergence of several digital upstarts and the accelerated adoption and acceptance of digital financial services by customers because of the pandemic. Fortunately, South African banks have responded positively and aggressively; many have shifted and taken bold steps to disrupt themselves. There is increasing evidence that the traditional banks are evolving and innovating at an ever-increasing rate, which bodes well for the future of South Africa’s financial services industry. Beyond the competition, there is also significant regulation driving changes, especially when it comes to providing consumers with access to, and control of, their own data. It doesn't, however, stop there. More and more people and organisations are starting to explore options for a freer financial world and breaking down borders for international banking and infrastructure. Most banks the world over realise there is a real opportunity to monetise work being done around the concept of open banking – the use of open APIs that enable third-party developers to build applications and services around the financial institution. But this requires significant focus on the likes of security, data management and API management, and the digital experience in general. There are three key areas that banks must consider when venturing into this new era: Quality of data. Access to data across hybrid environments is an essential component to delivering better experiences. But if the quality is not there, then the outputs will be worthless. Data management, therefore, becomes critical to ensure the information is ‘clean’, secure, and in the proper format while still meeting compliance requirements. Putting in place such a data management layer dramatically assists in managing the data governance process. Even though the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) set for 1 July this year introduces an additional level of complexity, banks will still be looking to eliminate data silos and manage their data more efficiently than in the past. Securing partner access via APIs. APIs have become instrumental building blocks in the move towards open banking. These specify how software components are assembled and provide a secure way for data to be communicated. Furthermore, APIs result in more agile development environments by providing standardised interfaces to external developers. For open banking, this is vital as banks require a complete lifecycle API management solution that can deal with everything from planning and design to implementation and testing. APIs are the glue that helps create an integrated network for partners. Getting value from data. Quality and accessibility are two legs of the triangle. The third is where the magic happens – identifying how things can be improved, and customer service enhanced. By gaining insights from the data available, banks can identify the services, products, and aspects of operations requiring optimisation to become significantly more customer-centric. All three of these elements rely on data. And when that data is available, opportunities for digital transformation and advanced analytics emerge. This includes real-time offers to customers, fraud detection with anomaly detection, and automated decision-making. Open banking opens the door to many more opportunities to innovate and deliver greater value to customers and partners. Even in insurance, these concepts can be applied to implement products like continuous underwriting, where policies can be adapted in real-time to reflect customers' life stages, health factors, and so on. Again, the secret sauce to all of this is data. Cloud enablement When it comes to open banking, the cloud is a critical part of a banks' IT strategy—helping them dynamically scale as demand for new products and services increases. The cloud has become more than just a platform to store data and collaborate with a distributed workforce. The cloud's high-performance computing capabilities unlock technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotic process automation, and data analytics. When all of these factors are combined, it gives FSIs and others the means to unlock their data's true power to create a truly differentiated customer experience.

Reinventing digital transformation with open banking

Dela Wordsmith - April 17, 2021 0

By Clinton Scott, managing director at TechSoft International Fintechs understand the importance of being customer-centric. In fact, 90% of organisations cite enhanced customer experience as vital to...

HAVAÍC taps Universum Wealth to establish new fund

Dela Wordsmith - March 4, 2021 0

Following a successful 2020 comprising eight new investments and three international exits, African focused venture capital (VC) investor HAVAÍC has announced the launch of...

Ukheshe and KCB in Deal to Boost East African Payment Services

Dela Wordsmith - February 4, 2021 0

In an initiative that will see the growth and development of payment services within the East Africa region, leading digital fintech platform provider, Ukheshe, has...

Commonwealth Finance Ministers call for extended financial support for vulnerable nations

Dela Wordsmith - October 12, 2020 0

Commonwealth Finance Ministers have today issued their first joint statement in over a decade, in which they called on the G20, Paris Club, World...

Commonwealth countries look to unlock potential of FinTech

Dela Wordsmith - October 2, 2020 0

An innovative toolkit to help countries unlock the potential of financial technology to deliver inclusive economic progress has been launched by the Commonwealth Secretariat. The...

Ukheshe announce two key appointments as demand for cashless services increase...

Dela Wordsmith - September 22, 2020 0

Digital banking platform provider, Ukheshe, has announced the appointment of Victor Ndlovu as Vice President of Ukheshe Africa and Paul Opie as Head of Issuing, Ukheshe...

Ukheshe launches prepaid payments programme with Mastercard and Nedbank

Dela Wordsmith - August 20, 2020 0

Through an extended partnership with Mastercard and Nedbank, Ukheshe Technologies the payments platform specialist, has launched its Third-Party Processing Services (TPP) in South Africa. This latest announcement by the...

Ukheshe a South African finalist in Ecobank Fintech Challenge 2020

Dela Wordsmith - August 13, 2020 0

MME digital banking platform provider, Ukheshe, has announced that it is a finalist in the Ecobank Group’s 2020 Ecobank Fintech Challenge. In its third edition, the programme is...

This Pig Farmer Is The World’s Fastest-Rising Billionaire

Dela Wordsmith - December 15, 2019 0

China’s pork crisis, worrying consumers as it pushed inflation to a multi-year high last month, has still produced some huge winners. Chief among them is Qin Yinglin. The...

Financial inclusion firmly on Africa’s agenda

Dela Wordsmith - December 9, 2019 0

uKheshe celebrates reaching its first milestone A year since launching, uKheshe, South Africa’s cheapest and most convenient QR cash card and micro transaction platform, has left...

Rates clearance certificate process improved by digitilisation

Dela Wordsmith - November 17, 2019 0

Fintech software specialist, e4, recently rolled out a rates clearance solution for Msunduzi Municipality. e4 Rates aims at alleviating the backlog of requests currently...

20 micro businesses stand to win R25 000 from uKheshe

Dela Wordsmith - November 7, 2019 0

Financial inclusion and QR card platform rewards entrepreneurs In its constant drive to help micro businesses grow, uKheshe, South Africa’s cheapest and most convenient QR cash...

Fintech specialist, e4, appoints new CEO

Dela Wordsmith - November 2, 2019 0

Grant Phillips - CEO e4 Hyde Park, Johannesburg. 30 October 2019 Photograph: John Hogg Fintech software specialist, e4, has announced the appointment of Grant Phillips as the Chief...

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