Bank ABC’s ila Bank goes live on Temenos on AWS with Systems Limited

By Puja Sharma

ila Bank, the digital mobile-only bank powered by Bank ABC, has migrated to Temenos’ cloud-native Core Banking and Payments platform to drive greater agility and scale.

Temenos, a global leader in banking technology, announced that Bank ABC, one of MENA’s leading international banks, had successfully migrated its digital mobile-only ila Bank onto Temenos’ Core Banking platform hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS). The migration, which also included Temenos Payments and Data Hub, was delivered by Systems Limited, a global system integrator and Temenos Delivery Partner. This marked the completion of the first phase of Bank ABC’s wider core banking transformation programme with Temenos.

Launched in 2019, ila Bank is a multi-award-winning mobile-only bank committed to delivering innovative and personalised banking experiences that enrich customers’ lifestyles, while driving financial inclusion across Bahrain and the wider region. With this go-live, the bank successfully migrated its retail account and lending operations to Temenos’ core banking platform, reinforcing its position as a digital banking leader in the region.

Temenos’ core banking and payments solutions on AWS provided ila Bank with the speed, agility and scalability required to drive customer growth and launch new products and services faster. Temenos’ cloud-native, API-first architecture also enabled rapid integration of new capabilities and open banking services to further enhance customer experience.

The migration was executed in collaboration with Systems Limited, which also provided end-to-end managed services for the Temenos solution. This milestone formed part of Bank ABC’s broader digital transformation roadmap, under which the bank plans to consolidate multiple back-end systems from across fifteen countries onto Temenos’ core banking platform. The transition is expected to enhance operational efficiency and deliver a 360-degree customer view across business lines and geographies.

Commenting on the development, Ismail Mokhtar, Group Chief Operating Officer at Bank ABC, said the go-live of ila Bank on Temenos’ cloud-native core banking system marked a significant milestone in the bank’s strategic transformation. He noted that the move strengthened the bank’s ability to accelerate digital innovation, respond more swiftly to customer needs, and provided a robust foundation for Bank ABC’s wider international transformation.

Mohamed Al Maraj, Group Chief Retail & Digital Banking Officer at Bank ABC and CEO of ila Bank, said the migration underscored ila Bank’s commitment to delivering distinctive digital banking experiences. He added that the transition enhanced the bank’s ability to launch new products faster, scale with confidence, and continue redefining consumer banking in the region.

Santhosh Rao, Managing Director, MEA at Temenos, congratulated Bank ABC on the successful go-live, stating that Temenos was proud to support the growth of one of the region’s most dynamic digital banks with its cloud-native core banking and payments technology.

Ammara Masood, GM Global, Banking and Financial Services at Systems Limited, said the implementation reflected a shared commitment to driving innovation at speed and scale. She added that the programme set a new benchmark for modern banking and that the extension of the partnership through end-to-end managed services would allow Bank ABC to focus on growth and delivering exceptional digital experiences.