Core banking: cloud-native re-platforming for a mutual bank
FINANCIAL SERVICES · TECHNOLOGY · CORE PLATFORM
The situation
This mutual bank was constrained by an outdated, outsourced core banking system under a rigid, decades-old contract. Product releases were delayed for years, customer data was fragmented, and analytics and behavioural data were largely inaccessible, locked in proprietary formats across isolated databases. Monolithic infrastructure required overnight batch processing and rigid change for even minor adjustments, preventing personalisation or open-market integration. As a smaller institution, it could not match the custom-build budgets of the majors and risked tying up scarce resources maintaining complex technology it had built itself.
Custom build
Mobile and web app
Ientity-specific features
Customer engagement layer
The work
We designed a technology playbook and a vendor-evaluation framework, and divided the re-platforming into a phased, risk-controlled journey.
Mapped a clean technical and commercial exit from the legacy vendor.
Categorised every banking function against a hybrid procurement model, to land each in the right place between custom build and rented service.
Structured a composable, decoupled architecture using microservices, secure delivery pipelines, and an open API gateway, with domain boundaries set through structured technical workshops.
Ran a four-stage filter to funnel a wide field of providers to a single verified partner on jurisdiction, functional fit, cloud-native architecture, and predictable licensing.
Defined a steel thread: a thin, front-to-back slice of the bank for one product or segment, stage-gated so the executive could judge progress before committing to full migration.
Buy and operate
Data platforms and cloud data lakes
Near real-time single source of truth
Procure as a service
Core accounting and ledger
Payments and clearing
Standardised back-end systems
The outcome
An approved roadmap moving the bank from system maintenance toward real-time, data-driven operations.
A verified vendor plan using as-a-service and modern core configurations to cut new-feature time from months to days.
A stage-gated investment model that protected capital while building a credible digital challenger.