Varo, First Consumer Fintech Granted National Bank Charter in the US, goes live with Temenos Cloud Technology

Press Releases, September 1, 2020

Temenos – Company

GENEVA, Switzerland – September 1, 2020 – Temenos (SIX: TEMN), the banking software company, today announced that its cloud-native technology platform has gone live with Varo Bank, N.A. (“Varo”). Varo, the first consumer fintech granted a national bank charter in the US, is using Temenos Transact as its core banking technology. Temenos Transact makes it possible to rapidly innovate and offer a full range of digital banking products, from deposit and saving accounts to credit and loans, at a lower cost – supporting Varo’s mission to advance the financial wellbeing of millions of Americans underserved by traditional banks. 

Colin Walsh, Founder and CEO of Varo Bank, commented:

“Varo was founded with a clear vision to deploy a more efficient business model and cutting-edge technology in order to create a new kind of bank – one that is wholly designed around the financial health and wellbeing of the everyday American consumer. From the start, we knew this vision needed to be supported by having a national bank charter and an innovative technology partner like Temenos. After a three and a half year journey, I’m thrilled that Varo has made history as the first US consumer fintech to receive a national bank charter. Varo Bank is now live using our new industry-leading technology stack, developed in partnership with Temenos. Varo now has a historic opportunity to deliver the tech-driven banking products and services that will help millions of Americans make progress in their financial lives.”

Varo’s trailblazing, all-digital banking services are supported by Temenos Transact core banking technology hosted in the cloud. Temenos’ advanced cloud-native platform enables Varo to continuously deploy new features and products and rapidly innovate. Temenos’ platform also allows the bank to automate its back office, reduce costs and benefit from lower cost/income ratio. This supports Varo’s ability to rapidly scale based on customer demand and offer an expanded portfolio of services at a lower cost such as checking and saving accounts with no monthly fees. Temenos US model bank approach also helped Varo meet the specific business and regulatory needs of the market in an efficient and cost-effective way. Varo is currently implementing Temenos Infinity Origination, a solution tailored to support loan and account origination in North America for banks and credit unions.

The national bank charter allows Varo to expand its offering of comprehensive, FDIC-insured banking services and accelerate the pace of product innovation, supported by Temenos’ APIs Temenos technology will help Varo to bring its next generation of new banking products and features to market faster and at a lower cost.

Max Chuard, Chief Executive Officer, Temenos, said:

“Congratulations to Varo for achieving this unprecedented banking charter milestone. This marks a new beginning for digital banking in the US and Temenos is proud to have supported Varo on this exciting journey. Temenos cloud technology will help Varo accelerate its impressive track record of growth, innovation and social impact. We are pleased to see strong traction in the US market across all our products as we continue to support banks to deliver value to their customers. We’re delighted to have accomplished this revolutionary milestone with Varo and look forward to supporting their continued growth in this next exciting phase.”

Join Temenos’ leading digital event – Synergy Online on September 23 – to listen to Colin Walsh’s keynote “The Future of Digital Banking” on how Varo became the first consumer fintech to receive a national bank charter in US history, and is able to launch new products at an unprecedented pace through the speed of the cloud.