Banking Technology Breakfast pt3

A theme that echoed throughout the discussion was the importance of timing. Banks often find themselves at a crossroads: Do you implement early, or hold delivery to perfect the solution? 

One gives you faster time to value and greater momentum; the other, more stability at launch, compliance readiness, and a higher chance of customer delight.

But platform implementation doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It needs to factor in everything from internal politics, capacity, client demands, to external market conditions. 

Regardless of the size of bank, one thing the panellists agreed is that waiting for perfect conditions is a mistake. “You’ll never be ready, so go early rather than late,” advised one executive. Even if internal conditions are aligned, the world does not stand still; geopolitical shocks and market volatility can derail even the best-laid plans, disrupting management sponsorship or hindering compliance efforts.

Given the scale of a platform migration or integration, the only way to guarantee momentum is by committing early. If it took 30 years to refine a platform, it will not be rebuilt in two. The more successful outcomes around the table came from committing early and learning as the project progresses.
 

The “cardinal sin” of an implementation project, one executive said, is failing to actually implement.

Delayed platform integrations can take a toll on both the customer and internal teams, so it’s important to forward-plan with achievable outcomes in mind.

Banks cannot afford disruption when undergoing transformation. Customers expect continuity. Core features – payments, loans, account access – must remain uninterrupted and responsive. Any break in services will likely risk churn. In this light, operational efficiency becomes paramount.

Prolonging implementation can also take a toll on your organisation as technical debt compounds over time. Some institutions now track a “spend on systems” metric to measure the cost of complexity and prioritise remediation. To limit the internal cost of inefficiency, the mantra is simple: decompose to recompose. Strip away redundant steps, unify intent, and reimagine the processes rather than the systems. Replacing everything is rarely faster than adapting what exists, and without process re-engineering, new architecture simply replicates old inefficiencies.

With these in mind, a once complex implementation project becomes much more actionable, thus more likely to succeed.
 

Platform modernisation is not a sprint, nor is it a pure technology play. It is a test of organisational resilience, operational discipline and strategic clarity. Success depends on people as much as systems, on pragmatism as much as ambition. Act early, steady the ship, and never lose sight of the customer. The banks that master these principles will not just modernise, they will endure.

We’ll be hosting part 4 of our Banking Technology Leaders series in Q1 next year. Get in touch to register your interest. 
 

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