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Bank Zero

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Bank Zero
Company typeMutual bank
Industry
FoundedJanuary 16, 2018; 6 years ago (2018-01-16)
Founder
  • Michael Jordaan
  • Yatin Narsai
  • Line Wiid
  • Lezanne Human
  • David Longe
  • Mo Hassem
  • Jay Prag
Area served
South Africa
Websitebankzero.co.za

Bank Zero, registered with the South African Reserve Bank in 2018, is an exclusively digital mutual bank in South Africa. It offers banking to both individuals and businesses. Bank Zero joins other new banks in South Africa, such as TymeBank and Discovery Bank.[1] Despite an original planned soft launch at the end of 2019,[2][3] the bank is as of June 2021, conducting a closed rollout with beta testing, with a proposed launch date in mid-2021.[4]

History

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In 2018, Bank Zero was co-founded with a few former First National Bank employees.[5] The bank is 45% black-owned and 20% female-owned.[6] Instead of outsourcing traditional pre-ready banking packages, Bank Zero relies on a core banking platform.[7] By the end of 2018, after integration with the South African Reserve Bank, Bank Zero was a full settlement bank. In early 2019, Bank Zero integrated into the rest of the national payments system[8] to become a full clearing bank with an independent licence.[7] At the end of 2019, Bank Zero was officially certified by the South African Reserve Bank and Mastercard to issue and process debit cards.[citation needed]

Bank Zero had originally planned to soft launch some of its products at the end of 2019, but decided to delay its launch to 2020.[2][3] The launch has been delayed further and, as of January 2021, hopes to be open to the public by mid-2021.[9] The bank currently adheres to prudency with their capital and does not offer credit.[6] This according to their literature is a circumstance of South Africa, and an attempt to elevate the stress on the country’s economy.[citation needed]

Security

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Mainframe

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Bank Zero uses IBM Z mainframe computers and LinuxONE,[10] as a secure platform that can protect against data breaches with IBM's Secure Service Container.[11]

Debit card

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In November 2019, a patented debit card obtained with an agreement with MasterCard, combined with in-house patented security procedures,[12] operate on the latest Mastercard EMV technology and multi-layered security protocols.[13] Instead of storing the card number that is embossed on the card on both the magnetic stripe, and in the card chip, the debit card would have three different card numbers for each: the embossed number, the magnetic strip, and the card chip.[13] This would allow Bank Zero to limit specific types of transactions to each card number. For example, the magnetic strip card number could only be used at an ATM and at a point-of-sale terminal; the card chip card number could only be used at point-of-sale devices; and, the embossed number could only be used for online transactions.[13]

The bank said, "[this] will dramatically minimise the negative impact of card data theft and card skimming,"[13] allowing for a claimed virtually secure card.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ Mungadze, Samuel (2019-11-13). "Countdown begins for Michael Jordaan's Bank Zero launch". ITWeb. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  2. ^ a b "Bank Zero will launch business offering with personal account in 2020". BusinessLIVE. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  3. ^ a b "Bank Zero says it's set to launch in South Africa in middle of this year". The Africa Report.com. 2020-02-07. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  4. ^ Staff Writer. "Bank Zero launch plans ongoing amid Covid-19 disruption". Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  5. ^ Muller, Rudolph. "The FNB dream team who built Bank Zero". Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  6. ^ a b Shapshak, Toby. "Bank Zero Aims To Shakeup South African Banking With Tech-Savvy Offering". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  7. ^ a b Staff Writer. "The story behind Michael Jordaan's decision to start Bank Zero". Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  8. ^ "Michael Jordaan's Bank Zero prepares to shake up the banking system". BusinessLIVE. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  9. ^ "Bank Zero will now – maybe – launch by mid 2021, after yet another missed date". BusinessInsider. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  10. ^ StevenDickens3 (2018-10-31). "Bank Zero disrupting Banking on LinuxONE". Mainframe Debate. Retrieved 2021-06-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Staff Writer. "Bank Zero's IT infrastructure – Photos". Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  12. ^ Muller, Rudolph. "The FNB dream team who built Bank Zero". Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  13. ^ a b c d "Here's how Bank Zero's patented debit cards work – and why your card number will never have to change". BusinessInsider. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
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