Finca Tajikistan, a member of microfinance group Finca International, is looking for a new core banking system.
It recently issued a request for proposal (RFP) to that effect.
It is looking to select and implement a core banking system that “will fulfil its current needs as a microfinance institution (MFI), which potentially would transform to a commercial bank in future”.
Finca says it “would like to have greater efficiency in operations by enabling rapid deployment of new features and innovations and proper reporting to respective authorities”.
Across the group, Finca uses a range of core banking systems (often, these are the solutions developed by regional/local vendors). Among them is Autosoft Dynamics’ Autobanker in Pakistan, Cobiscorp’s Cobis in Ecuador, Mambu in Costa Rica, and Neptune Software at a number of African locations.
In an exclusive interview to FinTech Futures in mid-2016, Rupert Scofield, founder, president and CEO of Finca International, said he was keen to standardise the group’s operations on one system across the world and his system of choice was Oracle FSS’s Flexcube. However, he was met with a lot of resistance as “local people wanted to work with local companies” and the project materialised only in part.
“They wanted a much cheaper system. I was pushing for Flexcube, but I didn’t get my way completely which is a big learning moment when you’re the CEO. You think you can do anything but you can’t. People will stop you,” he told FinTech Futures.
By then, Flexcube was installed in eight subsidiaries, Tajikistan among them.
Founded in 2003, Finca Tajikistan provides responsible access to finance to low-income entrepreneurs, agricultural business and SME to support the self-employed and create jobs.
It offers loans to consumers and businesses (including agricultural loans) and deposit products, such as current and saving accounts, as well as money transfer and currency exchange services through its 23 locations countrywide.
“Our strategy is to building future together for the poor in rural areas through the support and financial empowerment,” Finca states.
