Temenos and Canadian Western Bank break the boundaries of SME banking
Temenos (SIX: TEMN), the banking software company, today announced that it is partnering with Canadian Western Bank (CWB) on a pioneering innovation to support small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with financial decision-making and growing their businesses. The new solution, Temenos Virtual COO, is built on Temenos Infinity, the leading omnichannel digital banking product, and leverages Temenos Analytics and Explainable AI (XAI), API-first, cloud-native technology.
Temenos Virtual COO will offer relevant insights to accelerate the growth of small businesses and put business owners in control of their companies’ financial destiny. SME owners will be able to simulate different business scenarios with XAI-driven modeling enabling them to identify the best course of action for their business. The new solution will aggregate financial banking and business data to provide a consolidated real-time view of an SME’s financial health, and lighten the administrative burden so that business owners can spend more time on their business. Temenos Virtual COO will enable banks around the world to deliver tailored experiences that help SMEs navigate a complex and constantly changing landscape, and provide an open banking ecosystem for a centralized, next-generation experience. With this innovation, CWB will cement its position as the trusted advisor for SMEs in Canada, and a pioneer in financial services.
Temenos Virtual COO emerged from Temenos SME Think Space, an open innovation event of changemakers from across the industry. Temenos brought together SME owners, banks and technology partners in a two-day design sprint and hackathon to generate new ideas on how to solve the biggest challenges for SMEs. During that event, the delegates identified needs that aren’t currently being fulfilled by financial institutions – a heavy administrative burden and a lack of meaningful insight to support growth. This feedback became the driving force behind the collaboration between Temenos and CWB on Temenos Virtual COO.
Following the Temenos SME Think Space event, CWB partnered with Temenos on a 12-week Innovation Proof of Concept for Virtual COO. As part of the design process, Temenos and CWB applied feedback from local small business owners into the prototype, and then validated the results. By applying Design Thinking, agile methodologies, and Lean Startup principles, Temenos and CWB confirmed the potential for Virtual COO to deliver business value to banks and their SME customers. Deloitte Digital will collaborate with Temenos to take Virtual COO to market.
CWB is known for the relationship-based client experience it offers Canadian business owners. The bank has been a Temenos customer since 2012 when it began its transformation with Temenos Transact, the next generation in core banking. CWB also selected Temenos to deliver personalized, end-to-end digital experiences with Temenos Data Lake and Temenos Infinity, forming a strategic relationship. Temenos Virtual COO is the next phase of CWB’s ongoing commitment to deliver a differentiated digital banking experience that empowers SME owners.
Chris Fowler, president and CEO, Canadian Western Bank, commented: “It’s important now, more than ever to offer innovative digital solutions that ease the challenges that business owners face as they look to grow and maintain a business, especially during a pandemic. Temenos has been a key strategic partner for us on our digital transformation journey, and we are impressed with their focus and investment in innovation. We are excited to partner with Temenos to bring to market a data and intelligence-driven solution that will offer real-time insights and a holistic view, empowering SMEs to grow.”
Max Chuard, CEO, Temenos, said: “We are excited to bring this Innovation Proof of Concept to life with CWB. Temenos Virtual COO looks beyond what financial services banks offer to SMEs today, to what they can offer tomorrow. Running Innovation Proof of Concepts like this enables Temenos and clients like CWB to identify new opportunities to lead by example. With this collaboration on Temenos Virtual COO, CWB will take its digital offering to the next level, providing an innovative customer-centric solution tailored to the specific needs of SMEs. We are excited to work with CWB on this initiative, and inspire banks around the world to support their local communities and economies in new and exciting ways.”
