The microfinance company Barko announced on Thursday, October 28, that it will launch a new digital bank. The latter was built on Temenos Transact and powered by The Temenos Banking Cloud.

Barko has applied for a mutual banking license to operate as a full-service digital bank. Leveraging Temenos' comprehensive front-to-back services, Barko aims to offer banking products that are easy to consume, configure and integrate with external applications. These capabilities should enable it to help underserved and unbanked South Africans with longer term and lower cost loans, competitive affordable banking products and easy to use services with a seamless experience through its digital channels and its branches. Barko currently offers short-term loans with a term of 30 days, available to people who have been in permanent employment for at least six months.