Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Berlin. German savings banks, of all places, will be relying on Chinese technology to communicate with their customers in the future. The savings banks' central IT service provider, Finanz Informatik (FI), plans to have parts of its customer communication run via Huawei software, as Handelsblatt has learned from several insiders. This is about controlling calls.
Huawei is highly controversial in Germany. The federal government wants to exclude Huawei components from parts of the mobile phone networks. Mobile phone providers in Germany have already committed to keeping the group's components out of central parts of their networks. However, the IT headquarters of the savings banks have a completely different concern - they have little to do with China.
When asked by Handelsblatt, the FI did not comment specifically on Huawei. The company pointed out that it “always implements efficient and economically sensible solutions” for its customers. “Providers who make this possible and whose solutions meet our strict security requirements are potential cooperation partners for us – regardless of whether they are German, European or non-European providers.”
According to Handelsblatt information, the background to the FI decision is that the company avoids using the major US cloud providers when handling customer data. Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure dominate the market. The step can be interpreted like this: Finanz Informatik chooses to use Chinese technology out of fear of dependencies on US cloud services and a lack of protection of customer data.
The FI had to react because its previous contact center service provider, Genesys, is converting its solution for customer interaction to an application in the cloud. The FI itself operates several data centers, where Huawei technology is also supposed to run.
Several industry experts told Handelsblatt that they assumed that the FI would also use hardware from Huawei. The IT service provider explained that it relies “on a multi-manufacturer strategy and flexible supply chains, among other things, to ensure the greatest possible digital sovereignty”. For security reasons, he generally does not provide any detailed information about the use of technologies and manufacturers.
The choice of Huawei was “a conscious decision,” said a high-ranking Sparkasse manager. Another person familiar with the decision said: “We don’t believe in the cloud.”
The FI justifies its basic approach by saying that digital sovereignty is an “elementary component” of its corporate and IT strategy. “This includes in particular the operation of applications, AI models and the storage of data in our own data centers in Germany.” Data security and availability as well as ensuring regulatory requirements can be combined to a high degree.
In this way, the public savings banks are taking a special approach – similar to the application of open artificial intelligence (AI) models in their own data centers. FI has around 5,400 employees and is the central IT service provider for the savings banks and some state banks. The savings banks have around 38 million checking accounts. Some of the savings banks use another service provider in the group, S-Markt & added value, for telephone customer service.
Numerous German companies, including banks, are currently renting computing capacity from the US tech giants for AI applications and are relying on the cloud services from AWS as well as Azure or Google Cloud. The AI applications then run in a shielded, private part of the respective cloud. You pay for the amount of computing capacity used.
A number of banks in Germany also use Genesys in the cloud, including Commerzbank and Unicredit, or other cloud solutions for contact centers such as ING. The Volks- und Raiffeisenbanken's IT service provider, Atruvia, is moving to the cloud for Genesys applications, including the contact center.
Even other companies from the Sparkasse Finance Group have converted their contact centers to the Genesys cloud. This applies, for example, to the Bavarian Supply Chamber, one of the public insurers. According to his own statements, he has been using the Genesys cloud for his contact center since last year.
The savings banks' decision is causing astonishment in the financial and IT sectors. “I wouldn’t take the risks,” an industry expert told Handelsblatt. You cannot completely rule out data leaks.
Frank Fitzek, professor of communication networks at TU Dresden, advises caution when using Huawei technology. "We have to be careful who we trust with our communication networks. Humanoid robots in our factories and autonomous vehicles in our cities will in the future transmit huge amounts of sensitive data - including video streams," he warns.
"And the communication networks often know much more than what is being transmitted. Whoever controls the networks potentially has insight into the nervous system of our digital society. Maximum vigilance is required here," says Fitzek.
Huawei is controversial in several Western countries - critics warn that the Chinese state could gain influence over critical infrastructure such as mobile communications through the company. The National Intelligence Service Act there obliges organizations to cooperate with the state intelligence services.
Communication between companies and customers is bundled in one application via contact centers. For example, the software distributes incoming calls and emails to the appropriate people in the company, controls automatic voice dialogues and supports the teams in the call center with information. The provider's promise: to make customer service faster and more efficient. Contact centers are also increasingly using AI.
The Genesys software that Finanz Informatik has been running in its own data centers will soon no longer be available. The US company announced in 2024 that the Genesys Engage solution, which runs locally in data centers, would be phased out at the end of 2028. New Genesys applications run on computing capacity from cloud providers.
More than 1,000 companies have switched from Genesys Engage to Genesys Cloud, the company explains. The application is also available in the AWS European Sovereign Cloud.
The FI also had an alternative from Germany to choose from: According to Handelsblatt information, it had simultaneously tested a system from Vier GmbH, a medium-sized company from Hanover that operates its own data center. When asked, Vier GmbH stated that it generally does not comment on tenders.
Huawei is said to have offered Finanz Informatik the service at an unusually low price, according to industry circles. Huawei pursued an “aggressive pricing policy,” said an insider.
The tech group from Shenzhen has become internationally known with smartphones and network equipment, but according to its own information it has also had contact center technology in its portfolio for more than 30 years. “I'm surprised that the savings banks have had the courage - Huawei has always been in the negative press because of data protection concerns,” says Roland Ruf, who specializes in contact centers with his independent advice.
According to Ruf's observation, Huawei has been increasingly marketing contact center solutions in Germany for around three years. However, the telecommunications group has not yet established a large presence, says the consultant. The order from Finanz Informatik is therefore likely to be a prestige project: It ensures visibility in a demanding and highly regulated industry, for one of the best-known brands in the country.
