Netherlands-based BPC Banking Technologies, a provider of Open System e-payment solutions for the global financial industry, today announced the signing of its first customer in Cambodia.

Hattha Kaksekar Limited is the fourth largest microfinance institution (MFI) in Cambodia. The MFI has more than 1200 employees and 122 branches delivering a full range of financial services, including loans and deposits, to customers in Cambodia's 24 provinces.

BPC will implement a multifunctional in-house financial transaction switch at Hattha Kaksekar for ATM, POS and mobile payments, as well as a fully-fledged card management solution in the SmartVista suite. With the new in-house payments processing system, the MFI will be able to offer a biometric identification, enrollment and verification system, the first of its kind in Cambodia.

Previously, Hattha staff were obliged to go door-to-door to collect loan payments; SmartVista will automate the process by broadening the services available through an enlarged ATM network. There, customers will be able to withdraw microloans, gain remote access to their accounts, and make microloan repayments. Eventually Hattha plans to offer these capabilities through mobile phones, in addition to ATMs.

"We provide loans, savings, and other inclusive financial services countrywide, in particularly in rural areas, and that's why we needed a technologically sophisticated but user-friendly solution," said Hout Ieng Tong, president and CEO of Hattha Kaksekar Limited. "SmartVista will give our clients flexible access to a much wider range of our services, and will help make their lives easier."

"BPC appreciates the opportunity to play its part in helping to deliver financial inclusion services to millions of people in Cambodia by bringing state of art financial technologies to the rural areas," said Rajan S. Narayan, managing director of BPC Asia-Pacific.

For more on this topic, visit the software research center.