Finastra launches center of excellence in Kuala Lumpur

• Will tap MRANTI’s infrastructure, services, local talent
• Will champion Finastra’s lending, universal banking, payments solutions

Finastra has announced a new center of excellence (CoE) at Malaysia’s MRANTI Technology Park in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur. 

In a statement, the financial software firm said MRANTI Park, which is a hub for technology innovation, commercial adoption, and scientific excellence is an ideal location for it to expand its Asia Pacific footprint. 

This will further contribute to the local economy, and promote science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics (STEAM) careers in a region dedicated to innovation, it said.

Finastra said it will benefit from MRANTI’s integrated infrastructure and services. Additionally, it will also be able to tap into local IT talent, including from nearby universities and the growing startup technology community there. 

It said the new CoE will champion its lending, universal banking, payments and treasury and capital markets software solutions across the region.

With its FusionFabric.cloud open development platform, Finastra said it will continue to support innovation for its financial institution customers around the world, connecting fintechs, including those in Malaysia to its core solutions. 

The new space will also embrace sustainability and contribute to the circular economy, being a low carbon development that uses renewable energy, aims to recycle all waste and conserves water through rain harvesting, it claimed. 

Simon Paris, chief executive officer (CEO) at Finastra said, “This site is a hub for technology innovation and MRANTI’s desire to act as a connector, incubator, and catalyst to transform ideas from early-stage ideation to impact complements our collaborative mantra to drive innovation and technology acceleration.

“This will be around digital trade, digital finance and acceleration to cloud, in line with government initiatives around digitalisation there and a testament to our highly valued Malaysian banking and financial services customers,” he said

CEO of MRANTI Dzuleira Abu Bakar said through its recently launched MRANTI Park Master Plan, the agency seeks to inspire the world with a bold new model that accelerates ideas to impact. 

“This is done by combining our developmental expertise with tech infrastructure and services for the creation, development and commercialization of technology and innovation.

“We are excited that a leading fintech company like Finastra is joining our growing community and look forward to supporting local tech innovation to transform our nations’ technology landscape,” she said.

The move is supported by Finastra’s investor, Vista Equity Partners, a leading global investment firm focused on enterprise software that has over a dozen companies active in Malaysia. 

Robert Smith, founder, chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, said, “We’re delighted to grow our engagement with direct investment through this Finastra Center of Excellence in partnership with MRANTI, and are excited about further developing local IT talent and increasing opportunities for even more Malaysians.”