German online bank Fidor has signed a MoU with International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, a move that is seen to expand digital banking opportunities across Africa and Latin America
Under the MoU agreement, Fidor will provide its banking technology platform, the Fidor Operating System (fOS), for API banking to deliver financial services in a cost-effective way.
Both IFC and Fidor have agreed on the fact that an increasing financial inclusion of the unbanked population in Africa and Latin America is crucial for the economic development of the regions. For this, the banking groups will identify financial institutions and partners to expand digital bank joint ventures.
To achieve this goal, Fidor aims to operate by co-innovating with organisations that wish to launch digital banks by sharing both its banking expertise and new technology. The German online bank provides white labelled bank solutions covering technology, compliance, risk management and improved customer service.
The organisations also consent that digital technologies are essential to enable IFC and the World Bank Group to meet its goal of universal finance access, enabling one billion more people to have access to a transaction account by 2020.
“As account holders, people are more likely to use other financial services, such as credit and insurance, start and expand businesses, invest in education or health, manage risk and financial shocks, all of which can improve the overall quality of their lives,” explained Fidor reporting to the press.
With this new agreement, Fidor and IFC will introduce similar innovations to both Africa and Latin America to help bridge the financial inclusion gap. This MoU leverages Fidor and IFC’s expertise, existing portfolio of investments, franchise, industry relationships, co-investors and other relevant stakeholder relationships in these emerging markets.
