Bereng Mpaki
STANDARD Lesotho Bank (SLB) is working to resolve glitches in its recently launched Core Banking System to address the challenges faced by its clients.
This is according to SLB Chief Executive Mpho Vumbukani, who told the Lesotho Times this week that some “teething problems” had occurred since the system went live in March this year.
Dubbed Finacle, the new system is a banking solution developed by Indian firm Infosys. It replaced the Bankmaster system which the financial institution had used for the past 20 years.
Among the most common complaints by SLB customers were the double charging of management fees, delays in loan deductions, delays in effecting stop orders to third parties and inaccessible funds in the bank accounts.
Mr Vumbukani acknowledged the glitches in the new system, saying the bank should have done more to outline some of the changes that came with the upgrade.
“The new system was successfully installed, and it went live seamlessly,” he said.
“However, what I should acknowledge is that we have experienced a few teething challenges here and there, some of which are related to loan deductions.”
Mr Vumbukani added: “In the past, when a customer was supposed to repay a loan by paying an amount such as M5 000 per month, the principal amount and interest amount were deducted from his or her account.
“But with the new system, we have tried to be more transparent by detailing how much money accounts for the principal amount and how much for the interest that is deducted from the customer’s account. In the end, the split between the two amounts still adds up to M5 000.”
He said the bank had stepped up its communication with clients to alert them of the changes.
“What we did not alert the customers is that the same amount they are paying monthly would now be split under the new system, and that is where we think there was that reaction,” Mr Vumbukani said.
“But since we have been communicating to the customers, that problem has been resolved.”
On the delays in the transfer of stop orders, Mr Vumbukani said the bank had addressed the issue as well as the double deduction of bank charges.
“This past month (July), the system made double deductions on management fees.
“So, what we did was to actually communicate through SMS to our customers that we are aware of that mistake and would automatically reverse that charge. So we took ownership and the issue has been resolved as we speak right now.”
Asked on the reasons some customers were unable to access funds in their bank accounts, Mr Vumbukani attributed the glitch to the mixing up of the new and old account numbers.
The financial institution issued its clients new account numbers earlier this year in line with the system upgrade.
“Under the new system, we have required our customers to get new account numbers. But we indicated that the old ones would still be in use for the next 18 months,” he said.
“However, we have found out that some customers gave their employers their loan account numbers instead of current or savings accounts.
“As a result, the salary would be deposited into the loan account and not the account which the customer has access to.”
The SLB boss also indicated that they had set up a team to address all the glitches associated with the new system.
“We have established a team that is focused on dealing with all the different challenges related to the new system. Any problems that have been picked up by our Customer Contact Centres are handled by this team.”
On allegations that the bank’s staff lacked the capacity to operate the new system, Mr Vumbukani said extensive training was undertaken, adding that it was still ongoing.
“Leading up to the new system going live, we trained our staff to familiarise them to it starting from last year.
“The training sessions were held at the end of working days and continued deep into the night using different methods of instruction. “But we are continuing with the training given that it is a new system, with its complexities. So, we need to continue to guide our staff on the new system.”
He also appealed to clients to contact the bank upon encountering problems adding that any challenges they faced needed to be addressed at an individual and private level.
