dfcu Bank is in the initial stages of designing an innovative solution for on-boarding new customers. This follows the signing of a contract with the FinTech Company Laboremus Uganda on the 19th of March 2018 to accelerate the digitization of its banking systems.

The contract will allow the partners to jointly design a solution that will drastically reduce the time and paperwork required for opening an account, while being adapted to the local market needs. With the expansion of agency banking in Uganda, it is key to leverage technologies such as mobile, as well as take advantage of the new National ID card system. All this will lead to banking that is safer and more convenient for customers, especially in remote areas with a special emphasis on SMEs, women in business, investment clubs and farmers.

“Technology and innovation have become key strategic areas of investment for any financial institution in the digital age. We want to leverage capacity locally and from abroad to supplement our own team and to fast track results on our banking experience,” says dfcu Chief of Business and Executive Director, William Sekabembe.

Laboremus Uganda, which is partially Ugandan owned, is part of the Laboremus Group from Norway which specialises within software for the banking sector.  In 2013, the company was set up as a joint venture in Uganda, with offices in Bugolobi. Developers in Kampala have for the last five (5) years, been closely involved in the development of solutions for the European market. The company has a dynamic team of experts, consultants, innovators and digital transformation specialists, in addition to software developers.

The partnership between dfcu Bank and Laboremus will give dfcu access to technology and practices currently applied in Scandinavia, a region known to be ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to digital banking and FinTech. In addition to development of key software, the partners will, through agile processes, develop innovations that will put dfcu bank at the forefront of the next generation of banking.

“Partnering with dfcu bank, the second-largest bank in Uganda, is a great opportunity for Laboremus to show that our combination of exposure to the Scandinavian market as well as deep knowledge of the local market can be a winning combination for innovation in the financial space”, Timothy Musoke, the Head of Technology in Laboremus adds.