Cash Bank slashes transfer times with new IT system

Cash Bank, the Cape Town-based lower-income financial loan services bank, is optimising its service delivery with an integrated IT system that ensures quicker turnaround time for loan deposits. Where it would previously have taken a week for a loan sum to be transferred to a client`s bank account, it now takes two days at most. This enables corporate groups, with whom Cash Bank secures its loan contracts, to turn over requested funds to its employees, Cash Bank`s clients, far more efficiently.

Cash Bank accountant Anton Jonker says the bank was looking for a professional, reliable accounting system to replace its disparate accounting applications and streamline its internal electronic workflow. "Because we service people who are otherwise unable to secure finance for housing or development from larger financial institutions, the impact of any latency in our IT environment had far-reaching consequences," says Jonker. "It was imperative we had our own house in order to support the 60 000-plus clients on our books."

Cash Bank previously consolidated its general ledger using multiple applications, including banking software, spreadsheets and database records. It had no unified way of generating reports or linking its systems directly to external banking facilities for electronic transfers or account updates. Ixchange customised its back office accounting software suite AccountAbility to integrate Cash Bank`s internal financial system with its external NedInform electronic banking facility, simplifying this process and improving the bank`s service delivery accordingly. AccountAbility is part of Ixchange`s specialist supply chain management suite, ABILITY. "Our internal systems and applications are linked directly to Nedbank`s NedInform facility through the AdaptAbility interface add-on," adds Jonker. "ReportAbility takes care of report generation using both AccountAbility data and external data sources." Jonker says the bank has benefited most from software customisation. "By modifying its software to suit our needs, Ixchange enabled us to synchronise debtor receipts and track them in our system without leaving the main application," he says. "We can transfer loans electronically in a fraction of the time it took before." Cash Bank bought 60 user licences for the customised module. Its centralised internal ledger eliminates the need for multiple-format applications, so the same staff is consistently more productive and effective in what they do. "In effect we can grow our business significantly without hiring more staff for duplicate functions," concludes Jonker.