TCS to power Israel's first fully digital bank

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said on Wednesday it has been selected by Israel's Ministry of Finance to transform its banking sector by building a service bureau that will serve as a shared, plug-and-play, digital banking operations platform.

The initiative is seen as a bid to boost competition in the financial services sector, spark greater innovation and enhance customer experience by democratising access to banking in Israel by making financial services accessible to the consumer.

"It will serve as an online financial superstore through which an ecosystem of providers of services and products, such as insurance and credit cards, can reach out to the new generation of digital natives," TCS said in a statement.

The digital bank, which is yet to be named, is the first to receive a banking license in the country in over 40 years and is set to launch in 2021.

It will have no physical branches and will provide Israeli citizens with all the services that regular brick and mortar banks offer, including credit, deposits, loans, account management, securities trading and processing.

The new bank will have access to all of Bank of Israel's liquidity tools and various payment systems.

"Our platform will embrace an ecosystem led approach to innovation and deliver enhanced outcomes for the Israeli banking landscape," said Eyal Moskal, Country Head of TCS Israel.

"Other sectors too could leverage this business model to provide financial services to customers," he said in a statement.

( With inputs from ANI )