Kenya selects Nigeria’s reconciliation solution - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Kenya Women Microfinance Bank (KWMB) has selected a Nigeria-based automated accounts reconciliation solution, CLIREC, reports ITREALMS.

This development, ITREALMS gathered will address identified needs for a more efficient and effective accounts reconciliation practices across the institution.

The managing director and CEO of Precise Financial Systems (PFS), Nigeria’s leading fintech firm, Dr. Yele Okeremi, explained why Kenya through KWMB has selected its automated accounts reconciliation solution, CLIREC, to address identified needs for a more efficient and effective accounts reconciliation practices across the institution.

Dr. Okeremi said reason for the project was to deploy a reconciliation solution that would facilitate a reduction of the turnaround time of the reconciliation process in KWMB.

“The reconciliation will enable Kenya Women Financial Trust to increase its operational efficiency by providing a faster resolution to unprocessed items, customer queries and improve responsiveness among other benefits”, he said.

He said the bank had identified its peculiar needs to include faster resolution of unprocessed items, faster resolution of customer queries and improves responsiveness; achieve a near real-time scenario of the reconciliation process, timely reporting to management and automated escalation of long outstanding items.

CIO of KWMB, Mr. Kibet Kipkemoi, attested to Okeremi’s statement, saying that the bank selected PFS’ Clirec because of its records of accomplishment in solving complex reconciliation challenges with its simple processes.

“Clirec was picked as the preferred applications after rigorous selection process by our team and consultants who evaluated all available solutions. We are confident that Clirec will meet all our reconciliation needs. “

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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PFS embraces global market, names Gartner advisor

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As part of efforts to mainstream global software markets, Precise Financial Systems (PFS) has named Gartner Consulting as its global advisor, reports ITRealms.

The engagement, ITRealms gathered would be for two years, and empowers Gartner to review PFS software solutions including its flagship Clirec and iTeller in order to recognize the possible international markets where the products would be most needed and advise on appropriate market approach.

Confirming this to ITRealms, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, PFS, Dr. Yele Okeremi, said that as the “global advisor to PFS”, Gartner would guide the company on the strategy for effective globalization as well as engage in “some hand-holding to ensure we get into some specific international markets. Gartner will do this for two years”.

Gartner, he also said, would provide a fact-based consulting service for PFS to boost its business performance.

According to him, Gartner's expertise would help the international businesses to make the right decisions about adopting PFS software and align their IT initiatives with business objectives as well as connect with industry peers and best practices.

Explaining how Gartner works, Dr. Okeremi said that Gartner has invested in research processes and proprietary methodologies that enable the firm to cut through information “overload, decipher multiple viewpoints and develop insights” that allow their clients to perceive the business landscape more clearly.

“Gartner will give us the information we need, in the context necessary to make both large-scale and everyday decisions with confidence,” Dr Okeremi said.

Account Manager, Africa, Emerging and Midsize Technology Providers at Gartner, Joseph Banks, said, “As Precise embraces international markets, our research process embodies a way of thinking that turns complex information into insight, which Precise can use for its business advantage. Our underlying methodologies are a tested set of research practices, procedures and rules used to collect and analyze information. This is what Precise stands to benefit as we work together to achieve its globalization objective it has set”.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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NIBSS, PFS join forces on innovation, unveil NACS

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The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) and Precise Financial Systems (PFS) have joined forces to unveil a new National Automated Clearing System (NACS), which allows all the Deposit Money Banks in the country to clear cheques within hours, reports ITRealms.

The banks, ITRealms gathered, have been test-running the infrastructure for 11 weeks and a total of N5 trillion  worth of cheques from 10 million transactions has been processed through the new platform.

At the post go-live session in Lagos with representatives of the banks, Managing Director of NIBSS, Mr. Ade Shonubi, explained that the institution had been on the project for over 18 months. He added that the infrastructure would allow all the banks to achieve several payment and non-payment transactions.

NIBSS’ boss said that as at today there are four clearing sessions. According to him, the advantage of having multiple clearing sessions was that the net amount against each bank is smaller so that risks are managed.

“With the new system, a cheque can be cleared within six hours, four hour or at whatever duration we agree”, he said.

The Managing Director of PFS, the software firm behind NACS, Dr. Yele Okeremi at the session said the process of clearing cheques in all Nigerian banks has been simplified with the launch of NACS and that the successful completion of the project has the door for more Nigerian firms to take on more national challenges.

Okeremi commended the collaborative effort that exists between NIBSS and PFS, saying that the partnership has given birth to the new system that “allows bank customers to experience the benefits of shorter cheque clearing cycles, as it reduces operational cost of the banks because the clearing departments of the bank can work smarter and close earlier”.

Expatiating on the reasons for the innovation, he said NIBSS needed a future proof system that would help the institution to realize its vision of a faster and more efficient clearing system that would be less resource intensive and accommodate various new requirements and practices in the clearing system.

“NIBSS wanted a system that can be incorporated with the Bank Verification Number [BVN]. They also wanted a situation where they would have a session-less system that would always be online such that banks could transmit their transactions as soon as they happen rather than a batch system that opens up at specific times and closes after stipulated time frames”, he said.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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PFS attains CMMI-DEV rating, strengthens trust

ITRealms:

One of the nation’s leading software powerhouse, Precise Financial Systems (PFS) has scaled through the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) appraisal, reports ITRealms.

This, ITRealms reports would strengthen the information and communication technology [ICT] sector of the economy with achievement of CMMI level 3 by PFS.

General Manager, Nihilent West Africa, the company that performed the appraisal, Shohel Noor said, PFS invested efforts and tools in institutionalizing the Maturity Level 3 practices. Stressing the adoption of CMMI by PFS “is strengthening Nigerian ICT sector’s trust in the CMMI framework and in Nihilent as a partner”.

Also speaking, the Managing Consultant and CMMI Lead Appraiser, Nihilent Technologies Ltd., Pune, Deepak Manjareka, said that PFS is one of the fastest growing software companies in West Africa, hence the company demonstrated the best use of various software engineering tools for better security, delivery, and institutionalization of Maturity Level 3 practices.

“CMMI is applied to create a process improvement solution that is appropriate to the context of each unique organization. It provides a path for an organization to achieve its performance goals. A CMMI-driven improvement project delivers a framework to standardize processes, ensuring that a business’ best practices are captured, shared and adopted so that it can move staff around the organization and those who leave the organization would not take business critical information away with them,” he said.

Competition is driving significant interest in CMMI. Development companies, service provider, and acquisition/outsourcing organizations are adopting CMMI as a differentiator and enabler to enhance performance. Competing companies are leveraging CMMI for industry best practices, and have adopted the approach to meet customer demands and competition. The growing popularity of CMMI in the market is also a big reason of adoption of this practice by companies.

CMMI is a process improvement training and certification programme, marketed by Carnegie Mellon University. Government agencies and many organizations required CMMI for software development contracts. It has 25 different process areas that cater to comprehensive business process improvement and solution. Each CMMI process area has two goals, two practices, and many educational information to help management make the right strategies.

The certification applies to sub-contractors that provide custom software to companies or create solutions for the government. These companies must follow CMMI or be covered by their clients.  Parts of the software product delivered to the government must follow CMMI in the supply chain.

MD/CEO, PFS, Yele Okeremi said the CMMI appraisal has a global impact on the company since software firms are no longer competing locally, but globally. He added that Nigeria needs to conserve foreign exchange and one of the ways to do this is by developing world-class solution, “this is what the CMMI has helped PFS to achieve”.

Ayo Midele/GEE

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