Customers talk with tellers at ACLEDA Bank branch in central Phnom Penh last year. YOUSOS APDOULRASHIM
Public-listed ACLEDA Bank Plc has teamed up with banking and payment solutions provider FSS Technologies Singapore Pte Ltd for a sound, comprehensive merchant management system that conforms to the bank’s scale and pace of growth.
In a July 5 statement, FSS said it had entered into a multi-product deal with ACLEDA “to consolidate and digitally transform [the bank’s] nationwide merchant operations and automate its terminal monitoring, reconciliation and settlement processes.
“ACLEDA has been using multiple, independent systems which made managing and documenting merchant related information, performing transaction reconciliation and settlements an operationally herculean task.
“ACLEDA needed a central application through which it could manage all merchant data, have real-time visibility and insights into the POS [point of sale] network and perform reconciliation and settlement for all merchants within the system.
“With a massive base of 150,000+ merchants, and with an increasing number of POS terminals, ACLEDA was already handling one of the largest merchant portfolios in the country. The bank needed a reconciliation and transaction settlement solution that could match up to the scale and growth of the bank,” FSS said.
FSS CEO Jaishankar Al said in the statement: “We have been focusing aggressively in the ASEAN region and the company is extremely proud to have ACLEDA Bank as a first client in Cambodia.
“To have ACLEDA as the latest addition to our customer base is a testament to FSS’ capability to deliver in new and growing markets. We, along with our partner Conscala, are determined to deliver a strong merchant management system that not only transforms the current merchant business operations but also provides a strong base for the bank’s future business growth,” he said.
ACLEDA president and group managing director In Channy said in the statement that the bank was “looking for a reliable technology provider who could not only provide a comprehensive solution but could also handle the scale and help optimise their current operations. FSS was quick to understand the bank’s core issues and identify business needs.
“It was imperative for us to first streamline and consolidates our merchant management systems before we could focus on the next phase of growth in our business.
“FSS’ years of experience providing similar technology solutions, product credentials, demos, and a strong relationship with our regional partner Conscala, gave us the confidence to go ahead and partner with FSS and transform our merchant systems and reconciliation operations,” he said.
FSS described Conscala as a growing Singaporean technology consulting and services firm that specialises in banking and payments, and has a “dedicated focus” on emerging Asia-Pacific markets.
ACLEDA reported that, in the first quarter of this year, its loan portfolio and savings deposits grew by $362 million and $187.4 million, respectively, to reach $5.742 billion and $5.899 billion on March 31. As of May 31, the ACLEDA Mobile service had around 2.4 million users.
