
Infosys an Indian multinational technology company that offers business consulting, information technology, and outsourcing services, utilizing its Finacle product offering on Microsoft Azure has provided the first digital bank in UAE (they did not name the bank), which could be Liv Bank, a subsidiary of Emirates NBD, given it has publicized itself as being the first digital bank in the UAE, with Finacle on Cloud, a cloud-native solution that accelerates cloud adoption which works to toward digital banking, integrate decentralized finance (DeFi) into their operations.
As per a Microsoft blog post, the first licensed digital bank in the UAE, aimed to tap into the power of advanced data capabilities to simplify and upgrade the customer experience and provide secure, reliable, and innovative solutions through blockchain and AI technologies. After evaluating various technology platforms, looking for capabilities that would help them successfully integrate traditional finance (TradFi) and DeFi. Their ultimate goal being to redefine the banking landscape by streamlining financial services and integrating AI and blockchain technologies into their operations. To accomplish this, they were seeking a composable architectural design and event-driven API on a cloud-native platform that offered agility and security.
The blog adds, ” Ultimately, after comparing many solutions, they decided they wanted to go beyond the traditionally defined core systems so many financial institutions rely on, and they instead adopted Finacle on Microsoft Azure, thanks to its functional richness, market-specific experience, long-term viability, operational performance, total cost of ownership (TCO), and flexibility.”
“A customer-centric revolution is reshaping corporate banking,” said Sriranga N. Sampathkumar, VP and GM – Middle East and Africa, at Infosys. “This bank is spearheading this change with AI, actively shaping the future of banking through innovation and the strategic integration of digital assets.”
Sampathkumar explained, “The bank’s swift evolution from a digital to an AI-driven bank was made possible by the seamless deployment of the Finacle on Azure.”
Using Finacle the bank can process a vast amount of data and perform sophisticated analytics—all resulting in the ability to innovate and integrate emergent technologies like AI, blockchain, and digital asset management and sit at the forefront of the digital banking evolution.
They also report that Microsoft Azure has been a crucial part of their solution; choosing Azure has reportedly provided them with a high-performing, scalable, and secure foundation upon which to build the bank of the future. The bank has active connectivity and immediate recovery from one site to another, due to the cloud footprint offered by Azure, including Microsoft datacenters in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
“By using the combined strength of Finacle’s innovative solution suite and Microsoft Azure’s robust cloud platform, this digital bank delivers a distinct, world-class experience, showcasing the essential agility, flexibility, and resilience needed to transform banking,” Sampathkumar said.
This comes as the UAE Bank Federation showcases how UAE banks are moving into the smart banking era with AI and Blockchain technologies among others.