Monday January 11, 2021
Bushra Business Bank (BB Bank), a new Islamic bank based in Somalia, has signed for Oracle FS’s Flexcube core banking system.
Fintech Futures understands that the bank, planning a 2021 launch and based in Mogadishu, also evaluated Path Solutions and Temenos.
BB Bank plans to offer current and business accounts, through online and mobile channels. Its development is still in the early stages.
Somalia has been a hotbed of new banking deals recently with Temenos, Oracle, Path Solutions and ICSFS all vying for selections.
Amana Bank, Sombank, and MyBank all picked new core systems in 2020.
Oracle also signed Somalian lender Dahabshil Bank International in January 2020.
Somalia, in the midst of a civil war since 1991, received no foreign direct investment from 1990 until 2013. 98% of all Somali shillings in circulation are believed to be counterfeit.
In a time of economic hardship, its people turned have turned to mobile money. According to Altai data mobile payments penetration is at 80% in urban areas.
75% of adults over the age of 16 use their mobiles for transactions. Sponsorship by telecoms firms has seen Somalia’s GDP grew 2.9% in 2019. It’s estimated that rate will increase to 3.2% for 2020.