MTN Nigeria has partnered with the Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) to introduce MTN XaaS, an innovative Micro-banking software as a service platform.
This is in furtherance of efforts to improve the operations of microfinance banking in the country.
The application is managed by MTN Business, the business-to-business division of MTN Nigeria, under the MTN Cloud Services platform.
MTN XaaS Micro-banking software as a service platform has been designed to enable micro-finance banks (MFBs) carry out banking operations without having to pay so much in licensing, storage and implementation costs required for typical banking applications.
Speaking at the signing ceremony at the company’s head office , Brett Goschen, CEO, MTN Nigeria reiterated MTN Nigeria’s commitment to delivering solutions that will make Nigerian businesses more productive and ultimately more profitable.
Babatunde Osho, Chief Enterprise Solutions officer (CESO), MTN Nigeria, said MTN XaaS Micro-banking software as a service is just one of a number of cloud services MTN Business is launching in the Nigerian market.
“Technology has made it possible for us to deliver robust cloud services direct to our customers via public or private connections without their need for storage, licensing and infrastructural concerns,” he added.
He explained that micro-finance banks can access these services from anywhere via a secure private or public connection. The banking platform, he noted is actually hosted in MTN’s state-of-the-art data centre so the only investment the bank makes in the form of hardware are the laptops and desktops that will be used to access the platform.
Osho remarked that MTN understands the need for MFBs to remain cost- effective while delivering innovative services to the nation’s unbanked poor and financially underserved. MTN believes this new service platform will save microfinance banks up to 70 percent of the traditional costs involved in procuring, hosting and implementing typical banking software today, he noted.
MTN XaaS, the CESO reiterated, by design, can be implemented within a short period of time and without attendant costs, such as OS/application license fees, data centre setup, servers as well as extensive in-house IT expertise.
Austin Okere, group managing director, CWG, stated that it is a pleasure partnering with MTN Business to deliver this service that will enable microfinance banks increase productivity, and improve customer service while remaining cost-effective.