Canadian challenger lender Equitable Bank has formed a three-year partnership with Microsoft Azure to leverage its cloud platform.

Through the tie-up, Equitable hopes to offer cloud-based banking services to more than 340,000 customers across the country.

The bank’s core business functions are being powered by Azure, which is also powering the development of solutions across all bank functions.

Notably, Equitable is the first cloud-only bank in Canada to be fully hosted on cloud architecture.

Equitable chief technology officer Dan Broten said: “With Microsoft as a trusted partner, we will bring about even better banking solutions for our customers. In late 2019 we launched the first, front-to-back Canadian digital banking platform on the Public Cloud.

“The timing proved to be critical, as it drove over 100% customer growth and over 400% transaction growth. We would not have been able to scale that fast and that effectively had we not been on the cloud.”

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Microsoft Canada vice president enterprise sales Jason Hermitage said: “Equitable Bank and Microsoft have a longstanding relationship, and we are pleased to build on that foundation and accelerate their data modernisation journey to help them unlock new insights and opportunities for customers across Canada.

“By trusting Azure as it most strategic and primary cloud platform across all lines of business, Equitable Bank will advance its key business and technology transformation priorities and will continue to pave the way for cloud-based banking in Canada.”

Earlier this year, Equitable brokered a deal to buy local rival Concentra Bank in a deal valued at C$470m ($370.26m).