Wireless for Yemen Bank

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Cooperative & Agriculture Credit (CAC) Bank is an independent financial institution based in the Republic of Yemen. Formed more than 25 years ago from the merger of two significant banking institutions, CAC Bank currently serves both public and private organisations, as well as individuals. It provides full-service commercial banking, including accounts, loans, credit cards, investing and foreign currency exchange.
 
The Challenge
 
When it comes to managing customers’ money, reliability is critical. Like any progressive banking institution, CAC Bank strives to offer its customers simple and secure banking transaction capabilities whenever and wherever they are needed. CAC Bank’s growth was beginning to outpace the development of landline communications availability in some areas of the country. Not wanting to halt their rapid growth, CAC began to look into alternatives.
 
In order to offer point-of-sale (POS) and automated teller machine (ATM) connectivity, as well as mobile connectivity for smaller branches throughout Yemen, CAC Bank needed to look beyond landlines for reliable data transmission solutions. The institution began investigating cellular connectivity options and tested products from suppliers in Singapore and China, but they found the stability of the devices lacking.
 
“We had to repeatedly reset the devices manually,” explained Ali Al-Suraimi, network administrator at CAC Bank.
 
The Solution
 
CAC Bank turned to partner Prodigy Systems, a value-added systems integrator, for assistance in finding the right cellular connectivity solution to meet its needs. Prodigy Systems recommended using the AirLink Raven X intelligent gateway by Sierra Wireless.
 
“We started testing the AirLink Raven X devices in the field, and the results were very successful,” commented Al-Suraimi.
 
After the success of both initial testing and a small pilot project of two devices, CAC Bank has now deployed about 40 Raven X gateways across its banking facilities. The bank is also working with a local carrier of cellular network service using CDMA 1X technology for POS and ATM connectivity and EV-DO Rev. A technology for branch connectivity.
 

 
The solution features a high-speed Ethernet interface and 3G-optimised architecture, as well as Aleos, the long-standing industry benchmark for reliable and feature-rich intelligence, which – in conjunction with the ACEware suite of tools and utilities – enables remote configuration, packet level diagnostics and reliable network session persistence.
 
“The ACEware tools are nice and easy to use,” said Adnan A Al-Harazi, director at Prodigy Systems. “We used the ACEmanager tool to connect remotely to the Raven X gateways, which speeds the device configuration and maintenance process.”
 
Prodigy Systems worked with network providers to draw the technical design for data connectivity over the cellular network and helped in forming the policies required to manage service usage. In helping with the cellular solution deployment, Prodigy Systems benefited from the AirLink gateways’ ALEOS embedded intelligence, which provides easy system integration and remote management of Raven X gateways in the field.
 
The Results
 
The new solution provides: reduced capital costs, because there is no need to install additional landlines; lower operating expenses because cellular services are cheaper to run than landlines; increased growth potential because ATMs can now be installed where landline connections were not available; quick activation and remote management; device portability; and improved customer service through an increased number of units and remote monitoring of system health.
 
CAC Bank has experienced a ten-fold increase in the volume of ATM transactions since it installed the cellular solution. The institution plans to order 70 additional Raven X gateways for its new ATMs early in 2009.
 
“When Yemen Mobile extends the coverage of its EV-DO network, we will consider this cellular solution as our first and only option for data connectivity,” concluded Al-Suraimi. “The stability of the solution is really amazing compared to other technologies we use.”