Core banking software in Nigeria as of 2020

Core Banking Application, or CBA, is that monstrous piece of system that powers every bank, big or small. I have been tracking what each Nigerian bank uses for a few years now. As invisible as it is for most bank customers and humans, it’s a major determinant for fintechs and those who integrate with banks in one form of the other.

A few things have happened since I last wrote about the core banking applications used in Nigerian banks in April 2011 and March 2016. 

So, if you are an aspiring payment services provider or a new switch, here’s your list as of 2020. Wishing you a mighty dose of good luck.

Bank20162020
Access BankFLEXCUBEFLEXCUBE
CBNTemenos T24
CitibankFLEXCUBEFLEXCUBE
Coronation Merchant BankFinacle
EcobankFLEXCUBEFLEXCUBE
FBNQuest Merchant BankFinacle
Fidelity BankFinacleFinacle
First Bank of NigeriaFinacleFinacle
First City Monument BankFinacleFinacle
FSDH Merchant BankFLEXCUBE
Globus BankFinacle
Guaranty Trust BankBasis/BanksBasis/Banks
Heritage BankFinacleFinacle
Jaiz BankiMAL
Keystone BankTemenos T24Temenos T24
Nova Merchant BankIntellect Design Arena
Polaris Bank (previously Skye Bank)FLEXCUBEFLEXCUBE
Providus BankBasis/Banks
Rand Merchant BankTCS Bancs
Stanbic IBTCFinacleFinacle
Standard Chartered BankeBBSeBBS
Sterling BankBasis/BanksTemenos T24
Suntrust BankBasis/Banks
TAJBank LimitedSOPRA (Amplitude)
Titan Trust BankFLEXCUBE
Union BankFLEXCUBEFLEXCUBE
United Bank for AfricaFinacleFinacle
Unity BankBasis/BanksBasis/Banks
Wema BankFinacleFinacle
Zenith BankPhoenixFinastra (Phoenix)

How has the software faired and now stack up?

In 2016Now 2020
Finacle – 7 (37%)Finacle – 10 (32.26%)
FLEXCUBE – 6 (32%)FLEXCUBE – 8 (25.81%))
Basis/Banks – 3 (16%)Basis/Banks – 4 (12.90%)
Temenos T24 – 1 (5%)Temenos T24 – 3 (9.68%)
eBBS 1 (5%)Finastra – 1 (3.23%)
Phoenix – 1 (5%)eBBS – 1 (3.23%)
iMAL – 1 (3.23%)
Intellect – 1 (3.23%)
TCS Bancs – 1 (3.23%)
SOPRA (Amplitude) – 1 (3.23%)

Additional Notes

  • I have updated the list to include merchant banks and the country’s Central Banking Authority (CBN). 
  • Basis/Banks lost a site when Sterling Bank moved to Temenos T24 in November 2016. The bank was also considering Finacle from Infosys at the time.

More About The Core Banking Software

Finacle is a complete suite of banking applications from Infosys, one of the largest technology companies in India.

FLEXCUBE is from Oracle Financial Services. FLEXCUBE was initially i-Flex software but the company was bought by Oracle in 2005 during one of its famous spending sprees. A bit of history: FLEXCUBE was originally developed by Citibank and was spurned off as Citicorp Information Technologies Industries Limited, an independent company. FLEXCUBE is highly regarded globally with about 700 installations in 125 countries and has won Core Banking Solution of the Year and Application of the Year from The Banker.

Basis and Banks are from ICS Financial Services, a midsize Jordanian/UK software company with about 45 installations worldwide.

Despite the fact that the Nigerian market is dominated by 2 major software from India, the core banking software business is rich and varied worldwide. To read more about other banking systems, head over to http://www.inntron.co.th/corebank.html.

Author: dejiolowe

Adédèjì is the founder of Lendsqr, the loan infrastructure fintech powering lenders at scale. Before this, he led Trium Limited, the corporate VC of the Coronation Group, which invested in Woven Finance, Sparkle Bank, Clane, and L1ght, amongst others. He has almost two decades of banking experience, including stints as the Divisional Head of Electronic Banking at Fidelity Bank Plc. He drove the turnaround of the bank’s digital business. He was previously responsible for United Bank for Africa Group’s payment card business across 19 countries. Alongside other industry veterans, he founded Open Banking Nigeria, the nonprofit driving the development and adoption of a common API standard for the Nigerian financial industry. Beyond open APIs, Adédèjì works deeply within the fintech ecosystem; he’s the board chairman at Paystack. Adédèjì is a renowned fintech pundit and has been blogging on technology and payments at dejiolowe.com since 2001.

2 thoughts on “Core banking software in Nigeria as of 2020”

    1. That’s me being sarcastic. Yahoo and hacking are crimes. Serious crimes with serious implications. I don’t support illegality in any and all forms.

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