GFT and Thought Machine to Accelerate Digitization Initiatives That Will Power U.S. Banks' Future Growth

New York and London (September 28, 2023) -- Traditional banks are at a critical point in their digital trajectories, having amassed significant consumer trust beyond that of digital-first challengers.

Now, global digital transformation company GFT and cloud-native banking technology company Thought Machine are equipping incumbent banks to thrive in the digital era. The two companies are building on their multi-year partnership in the U.S., where they're working with banks to introduce new digital infrastructures. GFT and Thought Machine will continue working together to move banks away from legacy technology and towards truly cloud-native systems.

While traditional banks have historically moved slower than digital challengers for years, they are now beginning to introduce new financial experiences that their digital counterparts cannot offer. However, the banks that can get these experiences to market before their competitors will be those that get a head start in modernizing their underlying legacy infrastructures.

GFT and Thought Machine to Address Banks' Largest Infrastructural Challenges

After spending the past several years laying the groundwork for digitization, U.S. banks and financial institutions are now in the position to begin undergoing large-scale infrastructure transformation. GFT has 35-plus years of experience partnering with global banks on their digital journeys, with highly skilled delivery teams throughout the Americas. Paired with Thought Machine's cloud-native core banking technology, the two companies are uniquely positioned to build and deliver digital banking and payment solutions to U.S. banks more cost-effectively than alternative approaches.

Partnership Offers Three Paths to Digital Transformation

GFT is a leading implementation partner of Thought Machine's Vault Core. Built on truly cloud-native design principles, Vault Core allows banks to define their path for transformation. The technology is pivotal to launching digital-first greenfield banks, offering new technology capabilities that coexist with their existing core system or migrating from legacy to digital architectures.

GFT and Thought Machine have achieved several initial milestones in their three-year partnership, including over 200 certifications, eight completed projects, and four GFT teams dedicated to delivering on joint projects with Thought Machine. In collaboration with Thought Machine and Amazon Web Services (AWS), GFT additionally built and launched BankLiteX to enable the launch of greenfield banks in as little as three months.

Traditional Banks Embrace Their Watershed Moment

"Fintechs have been challenging how consumers think about banking and financial experiences for a few years. However, traditional banks have been quietly planning their next steps throughout that time," said Marco Santos, CEO Americas at GFT. "We're now at a watershed moment in which these banks are ready to consolidate their unrivaled financial expertise and regulatory frameworks with digitization, cementing their positions at the top of the financial hierarchy for good."

Through their global partnership, GFT and Thought Machine were pivotal in the build and implementation of an award-winning cloud-native, mobile-only digital banking in Hong Kong. The digital bank has over 400,000 customers, which is powered by AWS and Vault Core.