Misys, a London-based financial software company, said it was targeting an expansion plan that focuses on the Middle East and Africa, with plans to enter Iran as soon as sanctions are lifted in the next few months.
Sohail Khan, managing director for the Middle East and Africa at Misys, said Misys has already invested in Iran, and expected operations to begin once the sanctions are lifted, Yahoo! Maktoob News reported.
“We’ve got people hired and ready to go to Iran. What we’ve been hearing is that in the next 60-90 days, the US is likely to lift sanctions, so we’re prepared. Nothing stops us from engaging with customers today; the only issue is selling the product, which we can’t do because of the embargo. We’ve started to travel to Iran, meet customers, and engage with them,” he said.
The company, which provides software used for mobile banking is expecting its largest revenue growth to come from core banking transformation, treasuries, corporate and retail channels.
In line with its growth plan, the company is currently looking at mergers and acquisitions, but did not disclose further details.
The number of mobile banking users in the Middle East and Africa is expected to reach 82.1 million by 2017.
With the current fluctuations in oil prices, which are expected to slow down growth in the banking sector, Khan said that might boost the mobile banking sector as more banks look at alternative, less capital-intensive ways to expand.
As for what needs to be done to boost the sector, he said banks should raise awareness on mobile banking and address security concerns, as well as provide incentives to consumers to use mobile banking.
“[Mobile banking] is the best and most cost-effective way by which [banks] can grow and serve more customers without incurring more costs … I think banks have a challenge to make sure that while they provide such a service, it’s comprehensive, secure, and the customer service is great,” Khan said.
