TBC Bank, a leading financial institution in the Caucasus and Central Asia Region, has reduced the time to market for new and enhanced products and services by 40% since implementing Kong Enterprise, the cloud-native API platform.  By removing the need for a centralised integration layer and scaling back the associated resources, Kong’s technology has not only streamlined innovation processes at the bank but reduced costs by one-third.

Founded in 1992, TBC Bank is one of 40 financial institutions listed on the London Stock Exchange with 30% of its investors based in the UK. Over time, TBC’s IT infrastructure and processes were starting to become increasingly complex and inefficient.  All requests for new or updated services and products – no matter how big or small – had to be submitted to TBC’s central integrations team, who would process each individual request.

With thousands of pieces of software and processes in use across the bank, bottlenecks had a direct impact on the business, as innovative product launches and enhanced service offerings would be delayed. Recognising that a modern era of software development had emerged which could eliminate these pain points, TBC embarked on a digital transformation journey. After an extensive evaluation, the bank selected Kong Enterprise based on Kong’s technical capabilities, the platform’s ease of use, and the level of expert support available.

Kong’s cloud-native API platform enables organizations to meet customer demands quickly and bring solutions to market faster with API and service connectivity that scales easily and securely. Built for the cloud with microservices in mind, it eliminates the complexity of any mix of old and new technologies to allow developers to work with APIs across architectures – so they can build faster, better and more securely.

Within just three months of implementing Kong, TBC had configured and launched a fully operational loan API-based product. Loan API provides the bank’s mobile and internet banking business customers with access to and control over their loans. Serving 700,000 customer requests per day, with 24/7 availability, the API has become one of the bank’s most important channels with its customers.

TBC Bank CTO, Bidzina Matsaberidze says, “Our previous system was too complex to use for all the team members. In contrast, Kong is much easier to use, allowing teams to proceed with their innovation plans without having to rely on a centralised integration process. By providing our developer teams with this freedom, Kong is accelerating our innovation cycles, increasing productivity and seamlessly bridging legacy systems with modern applications. Our teams can now manage their own API requirements within their desired timeframes, ensuring that customers have the best possible experience and enhancing the bank’s competitive position in the industry.”

“The financial services industry is moving at such a pace that banks need to be able to adapt quickly if they are to stay one step ahead of the competition,” adds Carl Mattsson, vice president of EMEA, Kong. “By removing the need for centralised integration, TBC has become more agile and better placed to launch new and upgraded offerings to meet ever-changing customer requirements.”