KEY POINTS
- Sterling Bank is the pioneer in Africa to adopt SeaBaaS, an indigenous core banking solution.
- SeaBaaS enhances the customer experience to the next level with enhanced data analysis and Artificial Intelligence.
- The system reduces reliance on foreign technology, boosting financial inclusion in Africa
Sterling Bank has set a record of being the first financial institution in Africa to achieve a total overhaul of their banking operations through indigenous core banking solution referred to as SeaBaaS.
SeaBaaS is a new generation banking system developed by Peerless and embodies the new face of Nigeria in technology/ financial innovation. It comes after the bank announced the change of guard in August this year.
The concept of SeaBaaS – Service Excellence as a Banking Solution – becomes a key idea of a vision, which the company aims at implementing in the near future, due to the fact that the application of ADAs and artifical intelligence in the sphere of work will necessarily augment the level of the customer satisfaction.
SeaBaaS: a milestone for African banking innovation
Sterling Bank’s shift to SeaBaaS is a giant leap towards improving on its efficiency and offering better, efficient financial services.
Abubakar Suleiman the Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank was keen on this achievement noting that SeaBaaS is the only core banking platform developed and owned by an African technology company.
“When we collaborate to fashion SeaBaaS, it is not only a landmark for us; it can only be conclusively affirmed that African origin institutions can foster best-of-breed systems,” Suleiman added.
The adaptation of SeaBaaS is to bring increased speed of the transactions, higher levels of security and financial products and services adapted to the customers.
At the same time, it makes operations more transparent and builds stronger reporting and compliance with regulators that in turn is a win-win for customers and regulators.
How SeaBaaS enhances customer experience and reduces costs
Suleiman expanded this to the broader context of African banking where African banks spend literally hundreds of millions of dollars several times a year to buy foreign made core banking systems.
“The SeaBaaS solution has therefore raised the bar for the financial services of Nigeria and is poised to effectively cut the costs of technology as well as granting the welfare of financial inclusion on the continent,” he added.
Many issues were encountered during the transition to SeaBaaS, for example, During the implementation, Suleiman agreed that there were some technical problems encountered but all are addressed to.
“This successful deployment I have stated here drudges home the fact that nothing valuable is achieved without challenges,” he said adding; “this new phase we are entering we are confident of delivering, unmatched efficiency as well as transforming customer experiences.”
Sterling Bank also has the history of introducing the innovations to the Nigerian market; the company was the first to introduce Nigeria’s contactless prepaid transport card; the company brought automated retail lending solutions into the country as well.
The banks’ ongoing dedication to innovation is also seen in the collaboration with the government and private institutions to implement the use of innovative technologies like the first drone delivery service of medicines in Kaduna.
The author(s) of this work stated that the bank has demonstrated a sustained interest in the innovation that is evidenced through engaging governments and private organizations in the deployment of innovative solutions such as the first-ever drone delivery service of medicine in Kaduna.
Sterling Bank’s integration to SeaBaaS will herald a new dawn in the Nigerian banking industry and other parts of the world by revolutionising the core banking systems in Africa.
