By Roy Urrico
Finastra Phoenix keeps rising within the core ranks. The Lake Mary, Fla.-based Finastra, a provider of financial software applications for credit unions and community banks, announced a pair of analyst firms, Celent and Gartner, ranked its Phoenix platform among the top retail core banking systems in the U.S.
“Finastra Phoenix is a modern and open core system designed for community banks and credit unions. It integrates proprietary open API [application program interface] systems and enables the adoption of third-party solutions. Phoenix was designed to help financial institutions remain competitive by adapting to evolving technology expectations and growth requirements,” said Peter Longo, vice president product management, U.S. core and digital at Finastra. The fintech serves approximately 8,100 financial institutions, including 45 of the world's top 50 banks.
Longo sat down with Finopotamus to discuss Finastra Phoenix – its recent honors, and its capabilities with credit unions and other financial institutions.
Receiving Core Distinction
"At Finastra, we are incredibly proud to be recognized as a top core banking solution by two of the industry's leading analyst firms, Celent and Gartner,” said Longo. “This dual recognition underscores our commitment to delivering customer-centric and innovative solutions.”
Longo explained Finastra’s focus on cloud deployment, APIs, and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities contributed to this recognition. “Phoenix is a unique offering that breaks through the functional silos of legacy systems, giving community banks and credit unions the breadth of capabilities needed to grow and adapt to the ever-evolving needs of the communities they serve.”
Phoenix was named in Celent's 2024 report, Retail Banking Core Banking Systems: North American Community Bank Edition, which scored vendor platforms based on its proprietary methodology in three categories: advanced technology, breadth of functionality, and client base and service. Phoenix received recognition for its cost value, security, and scalability, and for a comprehensive banking platform that integrates proprietary systems and third-party solutions, rather than just being a narrow core.
Gartner's 2025 report, Magic Quadrant for Retail Core Banking Systems, North America, rates core systems in four categories: leaders, challengers, visionaries, and niche players, all of which are based on the solutions' ability to execute and completeness of vision. Finastra Phoenix was listed as a leader in the magic quadrants – defined as a vendor with a higher-level market understanding than peers – as well as one that prioritizes market trends, ensuring the progressive innovation integration into their products roadmaps. Gartner noted that leaders also have high overall viability and great positive feedback, highlighting that the vendor emphasizes managing trends such as cloud deployment, open banking including APIs, and AI capabilities.
Boosting an Iowa Credit Union
“Financial institutions (using Finastra Phoenix) also have a lower-cost path to innovation and can consume rather than own and run core applications, freeing up IT resources to focus on strategic growth areas,” said Longo.
One such financial institution is Johnston, Iowa-based Community Choice Credit Union ($810 million; 52,000 members). “Our partnership with Community Choice Credit Union has significantly enhanced their core and data analytics capabilities, leading to an increase in revenue growth, developing better pricing strategies, and improving service experience to meet the evolving needs of its members,” Longo told Finoptamus.
Longo recalled, “During the initial stages of the RFP (request for proposal) process, Community Choice Credit Union informed us that they were looking for a partner to scale while continuing to deliver the experience that their members both expect and deserve. Our market expertise and commitment to seamless innovation, combined with Community Choice Credit Union’s forward-thinking approach, drive our successful partnership.”
Said Josh Cook, CEO at Community Choice Credit Union, "It is no surprise to us that Finastra Phoenix is being recognized by independent firms as a top core provider. When we needed to scale our credit union and find a partner that could help us deliver the experience that our members both expect and deserve, we turned to Finastra for its deep knowledge of the market and commitment to easily deployable innovations. We're proud to work with the team at Finastra as we evolve and grow."
Capable of Integrating New Technologies
“Phoenix’s open architecture enables financial institutions to easily integrate with new technologies and take advantage of emerging trends and opportunities,” explained Longo. He noted its open API systems offer a route to seamless connectivity to a suite of Finastra's own solutions for digital enablement, lending, mortgage, and payments, while also offering the opportunity for seamless integration with other third-party applications.
“For example, our most recent partnership announcement with i2c for digital wallet solutions demonstrates how the platform utilizes APIs to connect with external services and expand its capabilities,” said Longo. On March 5, 2025, Finastra and i2c, a provider of banking and payments technology, announced a partnership to bring payment issuance solutions to North American banks and credit unions.
Finastra Phoenix is cloud-based, facilitated via Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform. “This cloud delivery model provides financial institutions with faster access to innovation, transformation at scale, and accelerated time to market,” said Longo