Core Banking Applications (CBAs) remain the unseen backbone of banking, secretly powering every account creation, every transaction, literally all banking related activities.
But in 2024, Nigerians discovered the existence of core banking when Sterling, GTBank, and Zenith Bank all changed their core banking software, leading to weeks of poor services.
For most customers, it’s easy to completely overlook them, because they are very invisible, like a secret angel puppeteering the entire customer engagement process, and frankly, that’s how most banks like it.
But for fintechs and financial service providers and anyone who wishes to integrate with Nigerian banks, it is crucial to gain a better and deeper understanding of the services they offer, as these CBAs are the gatekeepers to either ease or frustration.
A lot has changed since my last dive into Nigeria’s core banking systems about 4 years ago in April 2020. I also did a deep dive into this in April 2011 and March 2016.
If you’re a fintech founder, an aspiring switch, or just a curious soul who likes poking at the machinery behind Nigeria’s banking sector, here’s the updated list of core banking applications powering Nigerian banks in 2024. Good luck—you’ll need it.
How have each of the CBAs fared and now stack up?
| In 2020 | Now 2024 |
|---|---|
| Basis/Banks – 4 (12.90%) | Basis/Banks – 2 (6.67%) |
| Finacle – 10 (32.26%) | Finacle – 11 (36.67%) |
| FLEXCUBE – 8 (25.81%)) | FLEXCUBE – 9 (30.00%)) |
| iMAL – 1 (3.23%) | iMAL – 1 (3.33%) |
| Intellect – 1 (3.23%) | SEABaaS – 1 (3.33%) |
| SOPRA (Amplitude) – 1 (3.23%) | SOPRA (Amplitude) – 1 (3.33%) |
| TCS Bancs – 1 (3.23%) | TCS Bancs – 2 (6.67%) |
| Temenos T24 – 3 (9.68%) | Temenos T24 – 4 (13.33%) |
| eBBS – 1 (3.23%) | |
| Finastra – 1 (3.23%) |
Additional Notes
- We’ve seen an increased interest among Nigerian banks in investing heavily to upgrade their core banking applications. But this has caused significant disruptions in services across the year.
- GTBank completed its transition to Infosys’ Finacle in October 2024, incurring annual license fees of up to ₦25 billion ($15.3 million). Although this was a step in improving customization and scalability, this migration caused serious service disruptions for customers.
- The CBN has mandated that commercial banks must seek regulatory approval before changing their core banking application. This is to ensure stability and compliance amid any significant upgrades.
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.