Toronto's Equitable Bank launches online only EQ Bank with Temenos Group

Swiss software provider Temenos Group AG (SWX:TEMN) is launching a digital only bank in Canada, called EQ Bank, in collaboration with Toronto-based Equitable Bank, with a focus on what they call “Experience Driven Banking”.
EQ Bank promises a transparent banking services with value-added services, driven by analytics and channels functionality, all powered by Temenos’ RetailSuite, which offers real-time, predictive analytic capabilities for understanding customer behaviour.
From 2008-2014, Temenos customers, which include 38 of the top 50 banks in the world, earned on average a 31% higher return on assets, a 36% higher return on equity and an 8.6% lower cost/income ratio than banks running legacy software applications.
“This is an exciting new chapter for Equitable Bank as we launch EQ Bank and bring convenient online savings right to the fingertips of our customers,” said Equitable Bank VP of Digital Banking Dan Dickinson. “We are committed to outstanding customer service and effective risk management, which became the foundation for this branchless, experience-driven model.
With Temenos’ RetailSuite, we have the ability to move quickly, adapt to our customers’ needs and refine the customer experience. I am proud with what we have achieved and in such a short amount of time.”
The EQ Bank platform offers both bank and customer a single view of all accounts, with the Temenos channels software underpinned by User Experience Platform (UXP) and SmartHybrid™ technologies that allow apps, user agents and interfaces to be written once and deployed across multiple operating systems and devices.
“With the majority of customer interactions now occurring through digital channels, the digital face of a bank increasingly underpins its effective presence and reputation in the market,” added Ovum Chief Analyst of Financial Services Technology Dan Mayo. “New digital banks, if they can provide a strong and modern user experience that is simple, intuitive, and secure are well placed to gain traction in today’s market, particularly as if they use platforms agile to respond to faster pace of the digital economy.”
Equitable is Canada’s ninth largest Schedule I bank, specializing in residential and commercial lending, as well as offering savings solutions, with approximately $17 billion of assets under management and 500 employees across the country.
“The completion of this project is the culmination of an incredible journey between Equitable Bank and Temenos,” said Temenos Regional Director for Canada & the Caribbean Russell Taylor. “Collaborating with the EQ Bank team and being part of their vision has stimulated our own efforts as we continue to invest in, and enhance our Canadian platform. We’re proud to take part in their strategy as they address a challenge that many financial institutions are facing today: how to bridge the divide between traditional banking and modern consumer expectations.”
Working together with Temenos and its partner Deloitte, Equitable opted to build its digital bank from scratch, designing processes, hiring employees and implementing the technology platform, over an 18-month period.
EQ’s first product, the Savings Plus Account, promises features including savings goals, a high everyday interest rate, along with interest earned on every dollar.
The interest rate is higher than most market rates, with the bank passing on the benefits of having no physical branches and being driven by an integrated, scalable infrastructure.
Temenos works with over 2,000 firms worldwide, enabling the processing of daily banking transactions for more than 500 million customers.