Fintech behemoths Backbase and Zafin form new partnership

Canada's leading relationship-based product and pricing capability solutions service provider, Zafin, has announced a strategic partnership with the Dutch banking engagement platform, Backbase.

According to reports, Zafin, which is one of North America's leading fintech companies, will join forces with Backbase to implement its spectrum of solutions onto the Backbase platform.

Both parties have said the partnership's conjoined solution is already globally available, is pre-integrated, cloud-ready, and turnkey.

Zafin was founded in 2002 and is a service provider for more than 30 top global banking institutions, including BNS, CIBC, HSBC, Standard Chartered and Barclays. The cloud-native company was also awarded Deloitte's Technology Fast 50 Award three years running from 2014-2016 and was recently selected by American Banker as one of the top 10 fintech companies to watch.

The collaboration with Backbase is part of the company's strategy to expand its presence in the US and increase its customer base.

Meanwhile, Backbase is another well-established fintech. Launched in 2003, the company has the benefit of market experience on its side, as well as a strong, customer-centric philosophy.

Currently, the Backbase Engagement Banking Platform provides businesses with a one-stop-shop launchpad offers services to retail, corporate and wealth management and the SME sector. The company handles all aspects of commerce from digital sales to everyday banking and the platform's design provides a seamless, user-friendly experience.

Backbase has been lauded for its industry-leading services by industry analysts including Celent and Forrester. The fintech provides solutions for more than 120 financial institutions globally, including Citibank, Société Générale, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Discovery Bank and more.

Strategic fintech partnership

The collaboration will enable Backbase clients to leverage Zafin's products and offers with pricing optimised to each customer. This people-first approach is aimed at increasing the adoption of new products and services while growing lifetime customer loyalty.

The partnership also improves banks' abilities to provide personalised, tailored products, enabling them to increase their share of wallet among both retail and business banking customers.

Reports show that due to increased competition, banks must accelerate the speed of innovation and market agility to deliver personalised products and cross-channel banking experiences.

The Backbase-Zafin partnership helps banks move beyond current technological constraints, the traditional model wherein a single-core provider delivers an all-in-one solution, allowing them to innovate and execute, delivering the products, services and experiences customers expect.

Speaking about the partnership, Jouk Pleiter, CEO at Backbase, explained, "Backbase's Engagement Banking platform unburdens financial institutions by packaging all the best fintechs and capabilities in a single platform.”

He continued, “With it, institutions can access the latest, greatest and most innovative technologies without needing to manage multiple vendors. This new partnership with Zafin offers our clients yet another way to build hyper-personalized experiences for customers while helping to break away from the legacy systems that have historically slowed the pace of innovation, and we're excited to see our customers benefit.”

Al Karim Somji, founder and CEO of Zafin, added, “Banks of all sizes are locked in increasingly fierce competition for customers, and the Backbase-Zafin partnership offers institutions a leg up over those mired in outdated technology and processes. Through us, they can deliver deeply personalized experiences to their customers and respond quickly to evolving market needs – a key differentiator in this crowded space.”