Bank ABC’s ila Bank Goes Live with Temenos Core on AWS

Bank ABC, one of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region’s internationally recognised banking groups, has completed a landmark core banking system migration to Temenos’ cloud-native platform hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) for its digital-only bank, ila Bank. The transformation — executed in partnership with Temenos and delivery partner Systems Limited — marks a pivotal inflection point in the bank’s broader digital strategy.

Launched in 2019, ila Bank is a multi-award-winning mobile-only institution designed to cater to digitally native customers with personalised, seamless banking experiences. This migration — now live — replaces legacy technology stacks with a modern, API-first core banking and payments engine, propelling the bank into its next phase of growth.

Why This Matters

This go-live is more than a simple technology upgrade — it demonstrates how traditional financial groups can unlock agility, scalability and innovation through cloud-native core banking architecture. For Bank ABC, the Temenos-AWS implementation de-risks its modernization roadmap and sets a template for large-scale digital transformation across the group’s operations in fifteen countries.

The cloud-hosted platform brings together:

• Core banking capabilities
• Payments processing
• Data hub services
• API-first extensibility

All hosted on AWS’s resilient infrastructure. This stack is designed to enable rapid product launches, simplified third-party integrations, and broader open banking services — essentials for competing in today’s fast-moving financial landscape.

Strategic Digital Transformation in Banking

The migration completes the first phase of Bank ABC’s wider core banking transformation programme with Temenos — a journey that originally began as part of a long-term plan to consolidate multiple backend systems across the group into a single, unified platform.

Traditionally, Bank ABC’s operations were supported by disparate legacy systems spread across markets. By centralising operations on a cloud-native core banking platform, the bank aims to:

• Enhance operational efficiency
• Achieve a 360-degree customer view across lines of business and geographies
• Accelerate digital innovation
• Streamline product rollout processes
• Support future scalability at lower total cost of ownership

This unified approach simplifies systems management while enabling real-time visibility into customer activity — capabilities that are critical for banks expanding in competitive digital markets.

Voices from the Migration

Ismail Mokhtar, Group Chief Operating Officer at Bank ABC, described the milestone as a key catalyst for the bank’s future evolution:

“The go-live of ila Bank on Temenos’ Cloud-native core banking system marks a significant milestone in our strategic transformation as MENA’s international bank of the future.”

Mokhtar emphasised that the new platform strengthens the bank’s ability to accelerate innovation and respond more swiftly to customer demands, while laying a “robust foundation” for broader group-wide transformation.

Mohamed Al Maraj, Group Chief Retail & Digital Banking Officer and CEO of ila Bank, highlighted how the technology supports the bank’s customer-centric mission. The upgraded core enhances speed to market for new products and boosts confidence to scale in existing and new markets.

From Temenos’ perspective, Santhosh Rao, Managing Director, MEA, praised the collaboration and emphasised the agility the cloud-native architecture brings to one of the region’s most dynamic digital banks.

The Role of Systems Limited

The migration was delivered by Systems Limited, a global systems integrator and Temenos delivery partner with cloud transformation expertise. In addition to implementation, Systems Limited will provide end-to-end managed services, allowing Bank ABC to focus on product innovation and customer experience while outsourcing the operational management of the core platform.

This managed service approach enables a continuous modernization cycle without distracting the bank’s internal teams with routine infrastructure management.

Cloud-Native Banking: The Competitive Edge

Core banking on cloud infrastructure like AWS has become a competitive differentiator for digital banks and fintechs because it offers:

• Agility and speed to launch new features
• Scalability without heavy upfront infrastructure cost
• Improved resilience and disaster recovery
• Lower capital expenditure and predictable operating costs
• Enhanced security and compliance adherence

Across the industry, banks are increasingly adopting cloud solutions to reduce dependency on ageing legacy systems while enabling real-time innovation. The Temenos platform — recognised as a leader in cloud core banking by analysts and used by hundreds of banks worldwide — is built to support these strategic objectives.

Next Phases in Bank ABC’s Roadmap

With ila Bank’s core transformation successfully completed, Bank ABC plans to extend its modernization to other lines of business across its global footprint. The strategy includes consolidating backend systems from multiple markets onto the Temenos platform, which will unlock group-wide operational synergies and consistent product experiences for customers.

This phased approach positions the bank to benefit from:

• Harmonised technology environments across geographies
• Consistent data and analytics models
• Easier compliance and reporting frameworks
• Faster iteration on product development
• Modern APIs for partnership and ecosystem plays

Ultimately, Bank ABC’s vision is to cultivate a bank of the future — one built on digital efficiency, modern technology foundations and customer-centric product delivery.

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