By W.B. King
Among topics discussed during a January 2025 MoneyLive North America webinar were how financial institutions can remain competitive by modernizing technology offerings to efficiently compete against market disruptors.
“The gap between digital innovation and outdated legacy systems is widening every year,” offered Lindley Gooden, moderator and cheerleader-in-chief at the London-based Greenscreen. The podcast was presented in partnership with the Jacksonville, Fla.-based IT consulting firm, FIS, which offers financial technology solutions to financial institutions, businesses, and developers. “The challenging is creating digital innovation with legacy systems.”
The rapid modernization of core banking systems, Gooden added, is no longer an option—it’s an absolute necessity.
Consumer-First Strategy
When it comes to legacy banking systems, panelist Meghan Greeley, EVP of strategy, transformation and innovation at M&T Bank, said it’s essential to keep consumer wants and needs top of mind.
“They are not just looking at us for financial services and financial products anymore. What they are looking for from us is to provide an overarching experience,” Greeley said. “What we are realizing is that those legacy systems need to be modernized because in order to bring these strategies to life it requires us to bring in things like data from many different sources; it requires us to be on the cloud; and it requires us to integrate seamlessly with other partners.”
Fellow panelist Joshua Daniel, director of digital platforms at US Bank, agreed with Greeley that the customer experience should be the priority use case. Then institutions should work backwards with technology.
“The first step is modernizing your applications,” Daniel said. “We build a foundational framework, and you can build innovation applications on top of it. I think that is where any systems or bank should start from—the customer.”
Gooden questioned whether meeting consumer demand, which can be like hitting a bullseye on a moving target, could, despite best intentions, negatively impact a modernization strategy.
“Use data and fail fast,” Daniel responded. “Agility should be part of your process,” he said, adding that it’s imperative to be continually gathering customer feedback during the process. “Nobody is talking about a big bang; start with a small piece.”
Build a Road Map
Rick Foresta, business unit executive, modern banking platform at FIS, built on the panel’s discussion by noting that the goal should be providing value early to consumers. “You do need to understand your target state—where you want to go, so you can create that journey, but that journey needs to show value early.”
Changing legacy systems, he said, is often rife with challenges—from long timelines to leadership and resource changes, he noted. “Start small. You don’t need to solve everything at once. Fundamentally, people and technology are still going to evolve during the course of transformation.”
Foresta added that FIS is in a “constant state of change,” which requires both having a roadmap but also taking detours when necessary. “You have to have that flexibility, and you have to build that into your program, your DNA, so you are migrating toward the target state but also evolving and developing new skills and technology as you go.”
Progressive Modernization
Corey McDougle, partner and principal, technology consulting at EY, also agreed with taking a measured “value-based approach,” with “bite-sized chunks,” what he called “progressive modernization.” This approach is often more manageable, he added.
“It minimizes disruption and risk and allows the bank to evolve, while staying operational,” he said. “This allows you to more proactively plan what you will consume from a capability perspective when aligning to your broader strategic products roadmaps, and in some instances containing costs, which is tied to real-time value realization.”
McDougle added that many financial institutions are continually seeking ways to bring in revenue, while increasing speed to market offerings.
“To do that, a progressive modernization approach makes the most sense. One of the key things we learned with a lot of our clients is that if you invest your time upfront in defining and managing your scope, this prevents the need for rework,” he continued. “It prevents the need for throwaway effort. It also prevents the need from you basically trying to force the target state system to perform the same way your legacy system has historically performed.”