Afriland First Bank, a Cameroonian financial services group with subsidiaries in seven other African countries, has opted for Temenos T24 Core Banking software to renovate its IT systems.

According to Temenos, besides providing Afriland First Bank with the platform, the financial institution will also make use of their solutions, including Temenos' Front Office Suite, analytics & reporting, payments hub and Islamic banking capabilities.

Jean Paulin Fonkoua Kake, President of Afriland First Bank, was quoted in a statement as saying: "We selected Temenos as our strategic technology partner because of their deep local expertise combined with the global experience in supporting digital transformation projects. Temenos' digital banking platform will allow us to be at the forefront of innovation and offer world-class services to our clients."

As Afriland First Bank pursues its digital transformation, Temenos will provide it with pre-configured local functionality which will enable the bank to cater for the specific regulatory requirements in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) and Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) zones.

According to Jean-Paul Mergeai, Managing Director of Temenos for the Middle East & Africa, the partnership highlights their commitment to the entire Francophone Africa where they see the financial services landscape changing rapidly - with domestic players challenging traditional French banks and telcos entering the space.

"French-speaking Africa is a key growth region for Temenos, as banks are increasingly turning to core transformation to differentiate their offerings, develop new business models and reach new client segments with digital banking services," he said.

The new deal will enable Afriland First Bank to achieve its ambition of introducing new products and services more quickly, support its growth ambitions and continue to pursue its vision "to become the most innovative African bank" as the delivery of banking services through enhanced digital channels in now in vogue in the continent.