Sombank taps Temenos to offer digital Islamic banking services in Somalia

By Pavithra R

Sombank, a fully-fledged Shari’ah compliant bank approved by the Central Bank of Somalia (CBS) offering banking services on a complete Shari’ah system has announced that the bank has selected Temenos Islamic Banking solution in the cloud to accelerate its digital transformation and product innovations aiming to increase access to financial services in Somalia.

Sombank is planning to implement the full front-to-back Temenos Islamic Banking platform combining the capabilities of Temenos Transact and Temenos Infinity. The platform’s scalable innovative technology provides superior features for Islamic banks to offer their customers Shari’ah-compliant products and enhanced digital experience. The cloud-native solution is expected to enable Sombank to design and launch customized digital products reducing its operating costs and time to market.

“We are excited to partner with Temenos to deliver next-generation digital experiences to Somalian customers. We selected Temenos because of its worldwide reputation, cutting-edge technology, and regional expertise in Africa. While we are a relatively new bank, Sombank has big ambitions to play a significant role in rebuilding the country’s financial infrastructure by improving access to financial services throughout Somalia and beyond. Implementing the Temenos banking platform in the cloud will allow us to achieve rapid time to value for new digital products and the cost savings to fulfil this vision,” said Mr. Garad Khalif. Nor, CEO, SomBank.

With the Middle East and Africa regions embracing digital agendas to encourage financial inclusion, mobile-only and mobile-first banks approach is expected to reach heights. Financial inclusion is core to Sombank’s mission. The bank currently serves customers via branch, online network and representative offices throughout Somalia. Sombank will leverage the Temenos Infinity digital front office to create a unified customer experience for all financial and non-financial services to serve customers better.

“We are delighted that Sombank has selected Temenos Islamic Banking to advance its digital banking strategy. Temenos has a strong presence in Africa and a track record helping Islamic Banks with their digital transformation. For over 20 years, Temenos has been empowering the Islamic finance community with flexible and innovative Shari’ah compliant solutions that are specifically designed to improve customer experiences. Sombank has challenged itself to be the leading Islamic Bank in the region, and this implementation is a big step forward as it embarks on this exciting new phase of its journey,” said Jean-Paul Mergeai, Managing Director – Middle-East & Africa, Temenos