CRDB Bank partners with BPC to upgrade card and payment systems

By Puja Sharma

CRDB Bank, a private universal bank in Tanzania, has partnered with BPC, a global payment solutions platform, to migrate its acquiring and issuing systems to a BPC’s next-generation SmartVista platform. The strategic move enabled CRDB Bank to expand its operations across Tanzania, Burundi, and the DR of Congo, in line with its commitment to delivering secure and innovative banking experiences to its customers.

CRDB Bank sought a modern, scalable, multi-institutional technological platform with the capacity for instant innovative card product launches, advanced integrational capabilities and affordable total cost of ownership. Migrating to SmartVista platform enabled CRDB Bank to consolidate its entire multi-country ecosystem under one microservices architecture, boosting operational efficiency while fully aligning with the national regulations and the international scheme certifications.

BPC migrated the issuing and acquiring functionality of CRDB Bank, its subsidiaries in Burundi and DR Congo, and affiliates such as Amana, Vision Fund, and KCBL(now part of bank CBT). The revamped card issuing capabilities extend from the ability to issue any type of card from corporate, virtual, proprietary, loyalty, specialised cards like fuel and hospital cards to internationally branded cards, Visa, Mastercard, and UPI.

On the acquiring side, CRDB Bank now accepts global brands across all of its POS network, as well as offering cardless withdrawals, foreign exchange at ATMs and advanced services like utility payments and dynamic currency conversion. Leveraging the advanced integration capabilities of the SmartVista platform, CRDB Bank has connected its core modules with its own mobile banking (Simbanking) and agency banking (Wakala), facilitating seamless, omnichannel experiences for its customers through its entire multi-institutional network.

Through the adoption of BPC’s next-generation platform, CRDB Bank benefits from the new modular infrastructure that has ensured seamless integration of all applications and components and compliance with international schemes and PCI-DSS standards, has offered instant onboarding of affiliate institutions to the CRDB platform, and boosted flexibility for continuous innovations. Over 4.5 million cards have already been issued through the upgraded issuing platform, marking a significant milestone in CRDB Bank’s digital transformation journey.

Abdulmajid Nsekela, Group CEO for CRDB Bank, said, “Migrating our switch and card management systems to BPC’s platform has significantly expanded our issuing and acquiring capabilities. This strategic partnership provided us with the tools to keep pace with our goal of offering modern, secure, and convenient banking services, while remaining true to our commitment to customers throughout Tanzania, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and beyond. We look forward to deepening our partnership with BPC to continually enhance the digital experiences we provide.”

Grant Truter, Chief Commercial Officer: Business Development and SaaS Operations – MEA, BPC, commented: “It is an honor to have CRDB place its trust in BPC’s expertise for this critical legacy migration. We specialise in delivering scalable, future-proof solutions that empower our customers to expand their networks and bring innovative payment solutions to their customers. Through our next-generation SmartVista platform, we support CRDB’s vision of providing modern banking experiences and help them drive financial inclusion and innovation.”