Building a bank in 12 months
To meet these demands, banks must embrace technological advancements that not only enhance customer experience but also drive operational efficiency. Digital transformation is no longer optional but a matter of survival. However, whilst some bank transformations succeed, 38% fail to meet key performance targets and around 67% of banks report at least one underperforming transformation over the last five years. Whilst bank transformation is essential, it is also challenging, risky and expensive.
The success of Salt Bank shows how to do it right. Salt Bank was built and launched in under 12 months, going live in the Romanian market in April 2024. Within its first month it was able to successfully onboard 200,000 customers. Its fully open API architecture allows it to easily add new functionality, and it is projected to exceed 1 million customers within its first 3 years of operation.
This article draws on the white paper “Building a Bank in 12 months”, co-authored by GFT and Engine. It explores how collaboration between GFT and Engine made this rapid deployment possible, the lessons other institutions can learn from the project, and the broader implications for the future of banking innovation.
How was Salt Bank built in 12 months?
Salt Bank’s success is a story of innovative technology, agile development, and effective collaboration.
From the outset, the bank’s goal was to provide a world-class digital banking experience to customers in Romania. To achieve this, GFT and Engine drew on the proven capabilities of Engine’s cloud-native, SaaS platform, built on the same technology that powers Starling Bank in the UK, and GFT’s extensive expertise in implementation.
The journey began with a clear strategic focus: deliver a digital-first bank that could quickly meet customer needs while providing a robust, scalable platform for future growth. Momentum on this complex project was kept up using an agile development methodology and GFT’s global delivery model, which brought together a highly skilled team from across 18 nationalities to “follow the sun”. Salt Bank was launched within a year. From the outset, customers of Salt bank enjoyed a world-class digital banking experience including rapid onboarding, multi- currency transactions and full integration with local payments and card schemes, including Mastercard and Montran.
The success of Salt Bank proves the power of modern technology to build a bank from scratch within a timeline that until recently would have been impossible.
What makes cloud-native platforms ideal for modern banking?
Cloud-native platforms have revolutionised the banking industry. Migration to the cloud offers numerous benefits, including scalability, cost efficiency, and the ability to integrate new technologies rapidly.
The cloud is particularly critical for enabling the agility needed in today’s competitive banking environment. A key advantage of cloud-native platforms is their ability to scale horizontally and vertically to meet the growing demands of customers.
In Salt Bank’s case, the cloud enabled seamless scalability, ensuring the bank could meet its customer acquisition goals while maintaining service quality. Cloud-native platforms also provide banks with the flexibility to quickly adopt and implement new features, from artificial intelligence (AI) to machine learning (ML) and real-time data analytics, creating a richer, more personalised customer experience.
By integrating real-time data capabilities, banks can gain a 360° view of their customers and respond to their needs immediately—whether it’s through tailored financial advice or innovative product offerings. As the white paper points out, cloud-native platforms allow banks to meet the expectations of today’s digital-first customers while reducing operational costs and enhancing security.
Lessons learned from Salt's bank transformation
The success of Salt Bank offers valuable insights for other banks and financial institutions considering a transformation of their own:
1. Customer-centric innovation
The modern banking customer expects an easy, intuitive, and personalised experience. Salt Bank’s focus on rapid onboarding, mobile-first features, and seamless payments reflects a deep understanding of customer needs. Banks looking to innovate should prioritise customer experience at every stage of their digital transformation.
2. Scalability and flexibility
Cloud-native platforms allow banks to scale operations quickly and cost-effectively. With Engine’s pre-integrated platform, Salt Bank could deliver core banking features without needing to reinvent the wheel. This scalability was key to the bank’s early success, with Salt Bank able to support 200,000 customers just weeks after launch. This ability to scale is crucial for banks seeking to meet both immediate and long-term goals.
3. Agility in development
By using an agile methodology, GFT and Engine were able to rapidly adapt and evolve as the project progressed. This agile approach reduced the risk of delays and ensured that the project remained aligned with the bank’s strategic goals. Banks considering transformation should adopt a similar agile framework to deliver results quickly and effectively.
How do GFT and Engine support banks in reducing time-to-market for new features?
With a pre-integrated, modular architecture, Engine allows banks to deploy new services quickly and without the need for extensive customisation or reworking of their core systems.
For example, Salt Bank was able to rapidly roll out key features such as multi-currency transactions, integration with Mastercard, and a secure digital onboarding process—all of which were made possible by Engine’s flexible architecture. This flexibility enables banks to innovate and stay ahead of the competition without being bogged down by lengthy development cycles. With Engine’s platform, new features and services can be added at scale and seamlessly integrated into existing workflows.
Additionally, as the white paper notes, Engine’s cloud-native platform offers built-in disaster recovery capabilities, ensuring that banks can maintain service continuity even in the face of unexpected disruptions. This reliability, combined with faster deployment times, ensures that banks can keep pace with customer demands and regulatory changes, without compromising on security or operational efficiency.
Envisioning the future of banking innovation with GFT and Engine
The future of banking innovation is being shaped by the digital-first solutions of pioneers such as GFT and Engine. As the banking industry continues to embrace digital transformation, platforms like Engine will enable banks to build agile, scalable, and customer-centric solutions that meet the needs of today’s tech-savvy consumers.
Looking forward, GFT and Engine envision a banking landscape where institutions can adopt new technologies faster, respond to customer needs in real-time, and scale operations with ease. The success of Salt Bank demonstrates the power of cloud-native banking platforms, and as more banks look to modernise their operations, the lessons learned from this project will serve as a valuable guide for future transformation efforts.
To learn more about how GFT and Engine can help your institution navigate its own digital transformation journey, download the full white paper, Building a Bank in 12 Months, and discover how to build the bank of the future, today.
