Can you remember a time when getting the latest feature or functionality required buying a whole software package or updating all of your hardware? It wasn’t too long ago.
But today, thanks to the rise of cloud computing, SaaS and push updates, enhancements to software or IT architectures can be done virtually as soon as an update is ready or a new standardization is put in place.
As the pace of innovation continues to increase in the banking industry, SAP has remained committed to reducing its own development cycles to meet customer needs. We recently announced new updates to Banking Services 9.0 – our core banking solution which was released six months ago.
SAP recently announced new updates to Banking Services 9.0 – a core banking solution released six months ago
For background, Banking Services 9.0 combines high volume transaction processing with analytics through the SAP HANA platform. It gives our customers a true, real-time digital banking platform; and coupled with our improved delivery methodology, it helps our customers innovate faster and at scale.
Banking Services 9.0 combines high volume transaction processing with analytics through the SAP HANA platform.
So what are these updates? For this iteration, we focused on two key points; optimizing and streamlining the user experience for bank employees with the integration of two, new SAP Fiori applications and an enhanced version of SAP Accounting for Financial Instruments (AFI); one that provides IFRS 9 enhancements in the areas of impairment, modifications and accounting for the own credit risk.
SAP Fiori Updates
The two new SAP Fiori applications now integrated into Banking Services 9.0 are the Get Bank Customer Overview and the Manage Time Deposit feature. The former is a transactional app that layers on top of any existing database a bank may have and makes it easy for bank employees to pull up information on a customer by their business partner ID or other personal details, i.e. name, address, etc. Once a customer has been located, data on the individual and their accounts can be accessed and used to inform customer conversations and services.
The ladder, Manage Time Deposit, provides a singular overview of everything from the account holder, contract manager, deposit agreement, reference accounts, etc. Again, by condensing all of this information into one, central viewing pane we’re helping bank employees and back office staff get a clear picture of all facets of a customer’s account and activities.
SAP Accounting for Financial Instruments
In 2014, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) issued its IFRS 9 Financial Instruments standards to replace IAS 39 and create a single approach to measuring and classifying a bank’s financial instruments. Banks and financial institutions must be compliant with these new standards by January 1, 2018.
To help our customers meet the new regulatory demands, SAP’s Banking Services 9.0 now includes an enhanced version of SAP Accounting for Financial Instruments (AFI). For our customers not planning to move to 9.0 yet, we have down ported the enhancements to Banking Services 8.0 too.
To meet new regulatory demands, SAP’s Banking Services 9.0 includes an enhanced version of SAP Accounting for Financial Instruments
The integration of AFI allows our customers to maintain compliance by automatically aligning to any standards or needs. It also centralizes accounting principles while maintaining multi-GAAP capabilities. This may sound complex, but it’s simply an exercise in standardizing processes and creating visibility into all facets of an organization.
With these new features, our Banking Services 9.0 customers are prepared for anything that might come their way – whether it’s complying to a new regulation or delivering an enhanced customer experience.
Top image via Shutterstock
