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SME bank challenger Judo selects Temenos on Azure for its core banking platform

Judo Capital partners with Temenos and Microsoft to launch its bank on the Temenos/Microsoft Cloud
as the bank breaks into Australia’s SME sector 

Today Judo Capital announced that it has selected Temenos T24 Core Banking, Channels, Analytics and Financial Crime Mitigation, to power its charge into the business banking sector. Judo will leverage Temenos’ global expertise and 25 years of experience in providing proven, packaged, upgradeable software to launch a challenger bank specifically geared toward SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises).

Judo has created a fully cloud-based, API-centric, technology ecosystem and the Temenos/Microsoft Cloud was a perfect fit, allowing Judo to be focused entirely on its customers rather than managing IT systems.  Temenos was the first banking software provider to launch a cloud offering running on Microsoft Azure and since 2011, T24 core banking has been available as a managed service on the Temenos Cloud.

Australia’s SMEs employ roughly 70% of the country’s workforce, and yet there is AU$70 billion of unmet credit demand coming from the SME sector. Judo seeks to fill the gap in this underbanked sector by turning the current banking model on its head with a relationship banking philosophy.

As a new ‘Challenger’ to the market, currently in the process of obtaining their full banking license with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, Judo was looking for a core banking platform that was well-known and established in Australia. Moreover, the technology needed to be able to support Judo in the long-term, and have a full set of products and features that would enable it to get to market very quickly. Temenos’ highly packaged platform and country model bank will allow Judo to quickly stand up a bank that automatically meets local requirements. By leveraging the API layer, T24 will integrate with Judo’s existing systems via its zero trust network and identity management system, thereby opening the door to easily connect with additional third-parties and creating an open banking environment. This approach, underpinned by Temenos’ banking software, will enable Judo to transform seamlessly into a fully-fledged bank as soon as its license is in place.

Alex Twigg, Co-Founder and CIO, Judo Capital, commented: “With the big banks’ shift to industrialization and centralization, SMEs have lost the human interaction and tailored service, that they so deserve and crave. Judo’s mission is to bring back the craft of relationship banking, powered by the best of modern technology.  With Temenos’ commitment to providing core banking as-a-service, we can continue to focus on empowering our customers, the businesses that are the backbone of the Australian economy.”

Connie Leung, Senior Director Financial Services APAC, Microsoft added, “Judo Capital is creating new solutions that change the way financial services are delivered in Australia. We have been working with Temenos to re-define the banking experience since 2011, when they became the first banking software provider to launch a managed cloud offering based on Microsoft Azure. Our relationship with Temenos will enable banks like Judo Capital and their customers, to benefit from the security, privacy and compliance built into Azure as well as the highest performance and scalability levels needed to thrive in the new world of banking.”

Martin Frick, Managing Director – APAC, Temenos, said: “We are excited to be working with Judo Capital to redefine the customer experience for small and medium enterprises. Judo Capital is challenging the status quo and bringing relationship banking back to SMEs. Temenos technology will enable Judo to benefit from a modern, end-to-end digital banking system, giving them the ability to offer their clients a fully digital and personalized experience that will scale. This win demonstrates the momentum in the Australian market where Temenos has a strong presence and local expertise. We are proud to be partnering with both neo banks like Judo and volt bank, as well as more established banks such as ME Bank and Goldfields Money to reshape the banking landscape.”

If you would like to know more about how Azure can be used by the Banking industry, visit the Azure banking website.

To learn more about the transformation in banking, download Microsoft’s The Future Banking Ecosystem ebook.

Jan-Willem Ophof