International banks operating in the region are rushing to put in place information technology (IT) systems that will give them considerable advantages over their local and regional counterparts, according to Sales Director in the Middle East for Cambista Technologies, Nigel Spear. Three leading international banks recently announced that they were installing sophisticated cash management systems in their Middle East operations targeting corporate customers.
“This is very much a wake-up call for the local and regional banks,” said Spear. “The systems that these international banks are setting up in the Middle East will offer them a considerable competitive advantage over banks that do not have such technology. Given the large amount of cash that such organizations as airlines and public utilities, for instance, deal with, systems that allow them to manage such monies in a real-time situation make a major impact on the bottom line.”
Cambista Technologies was recently launched in the Middle East and offers a range of applications from retail banking to high-end corporate cash management. The company came into being following a management buyout by the former management of Brokat.
Diversity in payment systems, customer demand for electronic services and Straight Through Processing (STP) combined with widespread industry consolidation is creating huge challenges for banks. Cambista is aiming its services at banks which are looking to offer on-line corporate and business banking services within a short time-scale, but which are also looking to retain the flexibility to extend and enhance their offerings into the future.
Spear says that the newly formed company has seen considerable interest from a number of local and regional banks in their solutions and expects to announce the conclusion of a deal in the near future. “It’s clear that this is an issue of pressing concern among senior management in banks,” he said. “Most of the people we are speaking to realize the very serious consequences of inaction on this.”
Cambista Technologies is an e-finance software and services provider dedicated to serving the United Kingdom and Ireland, Nordic and Middle Eastern markets. Focused on enabling banks to rapidly bring products and services to market over the Internet and other electronic channels. Cambista blends software product development and delivery with business analysis and technology consulting. . — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
