Largest bank by customer base gains capacity to handle 180,000 transactions per minute.

Nairobi, KENYA, 21 January, 2010

Equity Bank has fully migrated to the Card Management System from OpenWay Group of Belgium. The Way 4 System which is an online Card Management system is designed for multi-institution and multi-currency transaction processing, and has the ability to handle over 60 million cards with speed performance of 180,000 transactions per minute.

The system which received the highest possible rating by Gartner – the top organization for rating software in the world- also provides support for non-card based transactions over multiple self service channels, and also transacts different currencies.

Already in operation, the new system will increase efficiency and eliminate the amount of time it takes to transact business in all Equity Bank Point of Sales outlets and ATMs in the region.

Speaking during the signing of the partnership between OpenWay Group and Equity Bank, Dr. James Mwangi said the system has capacity to host the combined network of Equity Bank branches, subsidiaries and other banks at reduced costs occasioned by the automated workflows provided by the Group.

‘The new system not only gives Equity Bank a niche in terms of competitiveness in cutting edge technology and card management, but allows speedy and efficient transaction process in real time, and for all currencies,’ Dr Mwangi said.

Dr Mwangi said  the new migration had positioned Equity as the first banking  institution in the region capable of handling regional inter switching connectivity with ease, noting that the cost reduction and increased volume of channel transactions  would translate  into higher profit margins.

He said the new switch system would come in handy with the recently launched partnership between Equity Bank and Safaricom which will allow M-Pesa account holders to withdraw money from the banks 550 Automated Teller Machines countrywide.

Incidents of fraud in card transactions in the country would also be reduced drastically with the implementation of the EMV ( Eurocard, Mastercard, VISA) cards, Dr Mwangi said.

OpenWay Managing Director Wim Pardon said the robust Way 4 switching and back office system has also enabled Equity Bank seamlessly roll out in the region. The system has a built in online monitoring capability and has been used for issuing debit and credit cards.

Mr Pardon who was accompanied by the Account Relationship Manager Georges Michel said that Way 4 is looking at this partnership as an ideal opportunity into the African Market.

The system is equipped with a card association readiness for Visa, Mastercard, JCB , CUP among others. This means all other banks’ VISA cards can now be used on Equity Bank Point of Sale terminals in leading supermarkets and other retail outlets countrywide.

The investment was prompted by need for a regional switching system for the bank and the challenge of coupling system stability with higher capacity and faster transaction speeds.