EBank modernises business operations with AI and IBM Cloud Paks

By Edlyn Cardoza

IBM recently announced its collaboration with Export Development Bank in Egypt (EBank) to launch its digital banking-as-a-service (BaaS) platform to transform the Bank’s business operations and increase customer satisfaction by providing corporate services more efficiently.

EBank was founded in 1983 with the mission to boost and facilitate Egyptian exports in all sectors, agricultural, industrial, and commercial. EBank soon distinguished itself as a core of export operations in Egypt. As digitisation has transformed the banking industry, EBank recognised its need to use digital technology to launch its own retail banking business — while enhancing its corporate services, too.

Working with IBM and its business partner Sumerge, EBank built the platform using AI-powered cloud software from IBM to decrease time to market and lower integration costs, allowing the bank to launch retail banking services and enhance its existing corporate services. The Bank has adopted IBM Cloud Pak for Integration and IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation, built on the Red Hat OpenShift container and Kubernetes platform to create efficiencies throughout its hybrid cloud infrastructure.

As a result of this collaboration, IBM’s solutions fast-tracked EBank’s digital banking transfers by 80% and accelerated interbank transfers while allowing all transactions to be secure, monitored, and traceable. Moreover, IBM supported containerising its automation and integration solutions, enabling the bank to deploy on-premises across its hybrid-cloud environments and provide EBank with flexibility, cost efficiency, availability and scalability.

Ismail Farid, Chief Information Officer, The Export Development Bank of Egypt, said: “By collaborating with IBM, we have built the platform we need to decrease time to market and lower integration costs while we continue building on and enhancing our services. IBM Cloud Paks running on Red Hat OpenShift enable us to deliver greater customer satisfaction by providing fast and seamless, end-to-end services without queuing and lead time.”

Marwa Abbas, General Manager, IBM Egypt, added that: “As the financial enterprises progress on their digitization journeys, they need a strategy that allows various cloud-based applications to work in alignment. We are pleased to partner with EBank by offering AI and cloud technology from IBM and Red Hat to provide the flexibility and efficiency needed to enhance the banks’ processes and meet their customers’ expectations.”