Zenith Bank Spends $38m to Overhaul Core Banking Software

Ronke Kehinde/

Zenith Bank is standardizing its core banking software on Misys’ Fusionbanking Essence platform, Banking Technology has reported.

Sources familiar with the deal, which was signed in November 2015, said it was worth around $38 million.

It was, reportedly, the largest deal in Misys history at the time. The vendor declined to comment on any financials.

The Fusionbanking Essence software will enable the bank to be more engaged and relevant to all classes of customers to increase customer value.

The implementation of the software is underway. It is being carried out by USL, an indigenous system integrator and Misys’ partner.

Zenith Bank plans to renovate and standardise its front-to-back office technology with Misys’ software, including lending and deposits, payments, digital channels and teller operations.

Starting with Nigeria, where it has over 500 branches, the implementation will span group-wide – Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia and the UK.

At present, Zenith Bank uses the Ethix core banking system from regional vendor ITS. In the UK, Zenith Bank has Temenos’ T24. These will be replaced by Misys’ core system.

A decade or so ago, Zenith Bank attempted to implement T24 in Nigeria but the project failed.

Misys and Zenith Bank already have an established relationship on the treasury and capital markets side: the vendor’s Fusioncapital Kondor system has been running at the bank for a number of years.

0