Oradian empowers rural bank through cloud-based banking
Oradian, a global technology provider for the microfinance industry, in partnership with Asian Development Bank (ADB), recently rolled out the country’s first pilot project that will allow Mindanao-based Cantilan Bank to securely deliver its financial services through cloud technology.
Cantilan is the country’s first rural bank in Mindanao to move to the ‘cloud’, linking more efficiently and affordably its most rural clients to its financial services.
Oradian's cofounder and Head of Operations Julian Oehrlein shared, "Connecting unbanked Filipinos to financial services is a challenge, in part, because the technology rural banks need has been out of reach and too expensive to buy, manage and operate. With Oradian's cloud-based services, a system, which helps rural banks lower operational costs and reach more microfinance clients, is now accessible."
Backed by a $150,000 ADB grant, Cantilan Bank will use Oradian's cloudbased banking technology to unlock financial opportunities for the unbanked and underserved segments of the population.
The project will leverage Oradian’s flagship product, Instafin - all-in-one software that allows microfinance institutions, cooperatives and rural banks, to manage their day-to-day operations more effectively and to serve their clients more easily.
“Oradian particularly sees digital innovation as an important step in making financial services more accessible to Filipinos in Mindanao. Through this partnership, Cantilan Bank will have an all-in-one solution that not only reduces costs but also reduces risks. Cantilan Bank is securely storing their data in the cloud, as approved by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). They no longer risk losing client data because of a typhoon or an earthquake, which frequently impact Mindanao. The bank will also be able to serve their clients at all times — even after natural disasters when clients need financial services to recover,” said Oerhlein.
The ADB pilot project will be implemented in five stages including the full migration of Cantilan Bank’s data to the cloud infrastructure, enabling Cantilan Bank to know and control its portfolio and making it easier for loan officers in the field to serve clients using mobile applications linked to the core system; integration with third parties including payments and remittance services; client provision of direct digital access to financial accounts; and impact measurement on financial inclusion.
Cantilan Bank’s Executive Vice President Tanya Hotchkiss sees the project to benefit its most far-flung clients in Mindanao. "What we found in Oradian is a strategic partnership that will lead us to our sustainable growth. Oradian provides technology that helps us overcome our financial inclusion challenges."
Last year, Oradian entered the Philippine market with bold financial inclusion targets. Its core effort is connecting the base of the economic pyramid to the formal financial sector and digital economy. Globally, its goal is to connect 100,000,000 underserved families — impacting over half a billion people.
Oradian provides cloud banking software for marginalized and excluded financial institutions that are ready to scale up to serve mass markets of underserved clients. Oradian’s SaaS solution enables financial institutions to know and control their portfolios, so that they can transform inefficiencies into operational excellence, limited data into informed decision-making, and stagnancy into growth. Oradian is headquartered in Zagreb, Croatia with specialist teams in the Philippines, Nigeria and South Africa.
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, ADB is celebrating 50 years of development partnership in the region. It is owned by 67 members — 48 from the region. In 2016, ADB assistance totaled $31.7 billion, including $14 billion in co-financing.