South African microfinance firm Barko announced Thursday, October 28, that it will launch a new digital bank built on Temenos Transact and powered by The Temenos Banking Cloud. The institution has applied for a mutual banking license to operate as a full-service digital bank.
Leveraging Temenos’ comprehensive front-to-back services, Barko aims to deliver banking products that are easy to consume, configure and integrate with external applications. These capabilities should enable it to help underserved and unbanked South Africans with longer-term and lower-cost loans, competitive affordable banking products and easy-to-use services with a seamless experience across its digital channels and its branches.
“We want to build a digital bank for the millions of South Africans who are unbanked or underserved by traditional banks… With the Temenos banking platform, we can bring new products to market faster and at lower cost. A cost significantly lower than that of the traditional banking system, ”said Kobus de Wet, CEO of Barko.
Barko currently offers short-term 30-day loans, available to people who have been in permanent employment for at least six months. The company grants 125,000 loans per month.
