Banque MISR to connect 456 branches throughout Egypt via Oracle deployment

The Oracle 'middleware' deployment is expected to result in faster, easier and more secure transactions for Banque Misr's more than 2 million customers.

Currently, Banque Misr has three separate technology platforms for its branches, depending on their geographic location, including an Oracle-based infrastructure at the company's Islamic banking outlets. The new Oracle project will seamlessly link all three environments so that customers can transact in real-time at any location across the entire Banque Misr network, making the company's services more accessible for its growing client base.

"When Banque Misr was founded more than eighty years ago, our clients chose their bank based on its proximity to where they lived and worked. With Egypt's increasingly mobile society, this Oracle integration project is vital to ensure that customers can transact easily and securely from the location that's closest to wherever in Egypt they happen to be," commented Mr.Abbas Al-Gouhary, Banq Misr's Vice President.

"Banque Misr has introduced new services including telephone and home banking, and hassle-free money transfer systems, in response to customer demand for greater flexibility and choice. By linking our 456 branches and units, Banque Misr is set to enhance its service levels and deliver a consistently positive experience for our clients whether they prefer to deal in branch , or via phone," added Maher Hamed, Deputy General Manager of Operations for Banque Misr.

The technology at the core of Banque Misr's initiative is the Oracle9i Application Server Integration module, which enables the actual linkage between the bank's disparate IT systems. The business advantages that Banque Misr anticipates by integrating its branches include the seamless exchange of transactional data, and the ability to monitor the bank's business processes across its hundreds of branches.

"Banque Misr chose to partner with Oracle for this middleware implementation based on our previous positive experience with Oracle's Egypt operations, as well as the openness and scalability of Oracle's technology. As we inaugurate more branches both around Egypt and internationally, we need an infrastructure that can grow along with our aspirations," noted Mostafa El-Bourieny, Banque Misr's General Manager for IT.

The bank's in-house professionals, in conjunction with Oracle partner Tomorrow, Trade and Technology (T3), are managing the new technology initiative. A second phase of the project will be to link Banque Misr's additional branches throughout the Middle East and Europe via Oracle middleware.

"In Egypt's highly competitive financial services industry, responding to customers' needs for greater flexibility and security in where and when they transact is an important differentiator," said Mr.Atef Helmy, Managing Director of Oracle Egypt. "By giving its clients more options and greater peace-of-mind, while streamlining internal access to vital information across all of its branches, Banque Misr is emerging as one of the country's more service- and technology-focused banks."