Askari Bank selects Finastra to power its trade finance business

London, UK, November 19, 2019 - Last week at Finastra Universe Dubai, Finastra announced that Askari Bank, a leading commercial bank in Pakistan, has chosen its market leading trade finance solution, Fusion Trade Innovation, to digitalize its trade finance business. The solution will enhance the bank’s comprehensive digital trade capabilities via built-in workflow features and will improve services for its corporate and retail customers by providing a smart user interface. The solution is also expected to generate new revenue streams whilst keeping costs and transaction turnaround times down.

Abid Sattar, CEO and President at Askari Bank said, “As a bank that is focused on providing forward-thinking solutions to our customers, working with Finastra allows us to continue developing our digital suite of services and enable our customers to make faster transactions and receive greater value from their trade finance relationship with Askari Bank. We chose Fusion Trade Innovation for its ability to support our growth through powerful end-to-end automation of our trade finance business, its service agility and built-in SWIFT-compliance.”

Farrukh Iqbal Khan, Group Head, Operations and Trade Finance at Askari Bank, said, “Our growing customer portfolio in Pakistan requires a vibrant trade finance solution that facilitates more efficient trading through automation, reduced errors and streamlined processing. Working with Finastra means that we have access to a highly experienced team of consultants and are able to attract more clients at scale and deliver a competitive advantage to them. We look forward to growing this relationship with Finastra over time.”

Finastra’s trade finance offering will enable Askari Bank to meet increasing client demand for digital banking solutions, particularly among corporate customers. Askari Bank picked Finastra’s Fusion Trade Innovation to power its trade finance solution for its end-user experience, ability to support all trade products and capacity to integrate with downstream systems through open APIs. Askari Bank could also benefit in future from access to further innovation through Finastra’s platform for open innovation, FusionFabric.cloud.

Wissam Khoury, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, APAC and MEA at Finastra said, “Corporates are quickly catching up with retail customers and are expecting more from their bank, such as an improved user experience, speed and more innovation. The agreement with Askari Bank signals market readiness for large banks with complex trade finance and corporate banking operations, in locations such as Pakistan. Fusion Trade Innovation is unique in its ability to drive significant revenue growth for banks through enhanced customer service and access to further innovation. We are excited to support Askari Bank on this journey of digital preparedness and business growth.”

Finastra is well placed to support customers in this space, having recently been named a Leader in IDC MarketScape for end-to-end corporate banking solution providers.

For further information please contact:

Caroline Duff
Global Head of PR
T: +44 (0)20 3320 5892
E: caroline.duff@finastra.com
www.finastra.com

Harriet Pickering
PR Manager EMEA
T: +44 (0)20 3320 5317
E: harriet.pickering@finastra.com
www.finastra.com

About Finastra

Finastra unlocks the potential of people and businesses in finance, creating a platform for open innovation. Formed in 2017 by the combination of Misys and D+H, we provide the broadest portfolio of financial services software in the world today—spanning retail banking, transaction banking, lending, and treasury and capital markets. Our solutions enable customers to deploy mission critical technology on premises or in the cloud. Our scale and geographical reach means that we can serve customers effectively, regardless of their size or geographic location—from global financial institutions, to community banks and credit unions. Through our open, secure and reliable solutions, customers are empowered to accelerate growth, optimize cost, mitigate risk and continually evolve to meet the changing needs of their customers. 90 of the world’s top 100 banks use Finastra technology.
Please visit www.finastra.com.

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