Temenos’ decade of microfinance experience and strong partner network to benefit charity’s expansion plans
Temenos (SIX: TEMN), the market-leading provider of mission-critical solutions to the financial services industry, today announces that Homeless International, a non-profit organisation, has joined the Temenos community, purchasing T24 MCB core banking in the cloud, designed specifically for the needs of microfinance and community banking.
[Homeless International chooses Temenos’ SaaS solution] Homeless International is a large UK-based housing consultancy and finance agency that supports those in need to improve their lives and find lasting solutions to urban poverty through a network of 14 clients in Africa and Asia. The company chose Temenos’ core banking system to enable it to achieve its plans of expanding its operations to 50 clients and increasing its portfolio to a billion dollars of private equity investment. The fully cloud-based solution allows Homeless International to achieve the necessary scale without upfront IT investment, as well as providing enhanced functionality, business confidence and security.
T24 MCB runs on the Windows Azure platform through a global partnership with Microsoft, resulting in a Cloud-based, software-as-a-service (SaaS) multi-tenancy solution. It is also integrated with Software Group’s ‘UT Route’ switch technology, which allows different devices to communicate with each other across different locations all within the cloud, leading to a strengthened payment option for Temenos’ clients. Another Temenos partner, MicroPlanet Technologies, will support Homeless International with their migration to T24 enabling them to be live and operational within the specific requirements of the organisation.
Temenos benefits from a decade of experience within the microfinance sector, which has involved working with 240 customers across 36 countries, servicing over 10 million accounts, including Opportunity International, VisionFund, MicroCred, ACCION, Kenya Women Microfinance Bank and RenMoney.
Murray Gardiner, Director of Microfinance and Community Banking at Temenos, said: “We are very proud that Homeless International has chosen T24 for microfinance & community banking to support its ambitious expansion plans. 1 billion people currently live in slums around the world, and this is projected to rise to 1.4 billion by 2020, unless sustainable solutions are found for people to rise out of poverty. As a charity devoted to the challenge of housing and basic services in slums, the scope of Homeless International’s work is immense. Therefore, it needs a microfinance banking solution that’s scalable without incurring large additional costs, while providing advanced functionality and business security. Our partnership with Software Group enables us to offer this technologically-advanced platform, allowing Homeless International to improve its operations and increase its volume of business.”
Larry English, CEO of Homeless International, commented: “We decided on Temenos SaaS for our core banking solution because of the compelling case of the economics of cloud and the fact that we don’t want to build multiple infrastructure sites around the world. We chose Temenos because of their mature core banking system T24 and their depth and success in the banking sector. We looked at alternatives and feel more comfortable trusting our business with Temenos, an established banking software provider.”