EXCLUSIVE: “Core Transformation Gone Right” – Rajesh Saxena, iGCB and Gerald Gore, NMB Bank in ‘The Paytech Magazine’

How NMB Bank Zimbabwe managed a currency conversion project in just three days. NMB’s Gerald Gore and Rajesh Saxena from iGCB discuss how their core banking transformation took place amidst turbulent economic conditions

Many African countries are experiencing a wave of digital transformation in banking. In the face of a growing digital population, competition from challengers and the use of mobile services such as M-Pesa, change is now imperative rather than aspirational.

The cost reductions and operational gains that can come from updating core architecture are also too vital to ignore. NMB in Zimbabwe is one such bank embarking on this journey, albeit during a tumultuous time for the country.

Just this year, Zimbabwe replaced its local currency with the ZiG, short for Zimbabwe Gold. The new unit is backed by bullion and foreign currency reserves held at the central bank. The hope is it will provide stability and hold its value after a long line of attempts to deliver a stable currency since 2008, when inflation hit 500 billion per cent. In times like this, banks have an opportunity to provide some sense of assurance.

NMB, a leading bank in the country with over 500,000 clients, was looking to be a refuge for customer finances, as well as provide market leading digital services to other countries too. But it can’t do it alone.

Partnerships in this ecosystem are essential for seamless transitions to take place. NMB has been working with iGCB, a business unit of Intellect Design Arena, an Indian multinational operating in 57 countries, to assist with its core banking system transformation. We spoke to iGCB CEO Rajesh Saxena and NMB’s CEO Gerald Gore to find out more about the bank’s remarkable transformation journey and the rapidly changing banking landscape in developing markets.

The Fintech Magazine What were the key drivers behind undergoing a core banking transformation at NMB and why did you select Intellect as your technology partner?

Gerald Gore: “We had a combination of operational challenges and objectives, including limitations with our legacy core system following the transition from a paper-based bank to a fully digital one over the past three years.

“While we developed many of our systems in-house, our core banking platform wasn’t keeping up with our digital strategy, so with growing volumes, we needed to align it with our broader digital push. Scalability was critical. In Zimbabwe, as in many African markets, digital banking drives financial inclusion, resulting in high transaction volumes and Intellect’s system could handle this growth. We also needed open banking capabilities to integrate seamlessly with our partners through APIs, which Intellect provided.

“Intellect also allows our team to make customisations to our core system without external support, saving significant time and resources.

“And visiting Intellect’s leadership in Chennai, we appreciated its emphasis on partnership. We weren’t just looking for a vendor, but a true partner, and that solidified our decision.”

The Fintech Magazine How did you plan NMB Bank’s transformation?

Rajesh Saxena: “When it comes to core banking transformation, this large digital shift requires detailed planning. At Intellect, we start with design thinking and first principles. We spend a lot of time working with the bank’s team, mapping the bank’s stated objectives with micro user journeys.

“The next priority was to understand the bank’s unstated needs. As Gerald mentioned, the move from manual to digital operations changes the profile of transactions, making scalability a key concern so understanding those evolving needs was crucial. Regulatory compliance and country-specific business requirements were also important. We needed to ensure the transformation met local regulations and typical business practices.

“Data migration is another key issue when switching vendors, especially without the full support from the previous provider, so this was a challenge we tackled from the outset.

“In terms of reducing risk, we chose to use an MVP-based approach rather than a big-bang rollout, which is critical for banks with limited technology and operations staff. And Gerald rightly emphasised the importance of partnership. We embedded seven NMB Bank staff members within our team, so they could learn throughout the process and continue supporting the system after go-live.”

The Fintech Magazine What was your experience of Zimbabwe’s recent currency changes and how did you draft a migration roadmap that took this into account?

Gerald Gore: “We were in the middle of our core banking system transformation with Intellect, and went live with the new system on 2 April 2024. Just three days later, on 5 April, the government announced the adoption of a new currency, with the expectation that by 8 April, banks would complete the currency conversion. So we had just a weekend to manage this unexpected transition.

“While it was an unplanned project, it gave us the chance to test Intellect’s responsiveness, agility, and expertise. I was in constant communication with its team based out of Zimbabwe, who assured us that Intellect had us covered. They quickly mobilised their global resources, held design sessions, and shifted their focus to the currency conversion.

“Intellect’s system had the built-in capability to handle multi-currency operations, which allowed us to leverage its flexibility. Together, we created new general ledgers and parameters for the new currency, transitioning all relevant accounts and balances from the old Zim dollar.

“The project was a success. We were actually one of the top three banks to complete the transition within the set timelines, while some took up to two weeks.”

The Fintech Magazine How did this currency change affect the transformation roadmap?

Rajesh Saxena: “When I first heard that just three days after going live, we had to then implement a currency change over the weekend, I was shocked. Typically, regulators provide weeks, if not months, for such changes. But we embraced the challenge, and given our strong working relationship with NMB Bank, we quickly got to work.

“Account structure, lending, and balances were all affected so we pooled resources from both the product and engineering teams to run multiple design sessions, assessing the impact on various upstream and downstream systems. Thankfully, we already had a multi-currency module in place, so we mostly just needed to configure what was there. However, extensive testing was required. Our focus was ensuring that by Monday morning (8 April), NMB customers could use ATMs and other services in the new currency, and we achieved that.

“The speed of implementation is a testament to the dedication from both teams. This project is particularly special for us because we played a small part in simplifying the lives of Zimbabwe
citizens during the currency transition.”

“We were one of the top three banks to complete the transition within the set timelines, while some took up to two weeks”

The Fintech Magazine What are the results you’ve witnessed post-transformation?

Gerald Gore: “The results have exceeded our expectations. One key benefit is customer onboarding. The streamlined process has drastically reduced wait times, allowing near-instant account opening, even in the field which has improved account acquisition speed.

“But the biggest improvement has been in transaction processing. Our old system had a TPS (transactions per second) of under 20, causing delays, dropped transactions, and reconciliation issues. Since moving to Intellect, the system now authorises transactions in real-time with zero drop-offs, delivering the seamless experience we were promised.

“On the backend, end-of-day processes used to take up to 17 hours but now, they’re completed in under 20 minutes, freeing up resources and boosting efficiency. Batch processing, especially for large payrolls like government salaries, which used to run overnight, now finishes in minutes, further improving customer experience.

“Overall, the transformation has greatly enhanced customer satisfaction and internal efficiency, and we’re very excited about the system’s full potential.”

The Fintech Magazine What are some of the banking innovations that you see happening in Zimbabwe and in Africa more broadly?

Rajesh Saxena: “We’re seeing a few key trends in developing markets. One is digital onboarding, and also the push for financial inclusion. Many governments are moving toward a digital economy, a shift that’s been accelerated by events like COVID.

“Take India, for example. Six years ago, core banking was primarily branch-driven. Today, the majority of transactions happen through digital channels like UPI. We’re seeing similar trends across Africa and other developing regions.

“For technology providers, scalability is critical, which requires the right architecture. Our platform is built on eMACH.ai architecture (Events, Microservices, API, Cloud, Headless, and AI-based services), which enables banks to handle large volumes of transactions, something legacy systems struggle with.

“Another key shift is toward the cloud. While we haven’t seen widespread adoption yet, these markets will eventually move toward cloud, whether it’s private or public. So having a cloud-native architecture is essential. We’ll also see more adoption of open finance, allowing banks to tap into new ecosystems and extend their reach.

“Looking ahead, AI will play a big role in banking innovation. Use cases like document extraction for operations and other AI-driven services are already in development.

“We’re excited to bring those solutions to banks in the near future.”

This article was published in The Paytech Magazine Issue 15, Page 26-27