Insights include
The ongoing acceleration of change in the payments industry, coupled with growing pressures to meet customer demands and cost constraints, means that payment modernisation is now fundamental to the success of financial institutions.
When embarking on a modernisation programme, banks are faced with a basic question: should we build the new capabilities in-house, or should we buy an off-the-shelf solution?
But before this question can be answered, it is important to understand what payment modernisation actually entails. Many organisations approach payment modernisation initiatives solely as large-scale engineering projects. However, the reality is more complex, requiring far more than ‘just’ employing skilled engineers and having an approved budget for individual projects. Building and maintaining future-proof, mission-critical payment solutions demands a comprehensive programme approach towards a desired target state. One that extends beyond engineering capability and financial resources, encompassing stakeholders from across the organisation.
To support banks on their modernisation journey, this positioning paper:
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Assesses the rationale and offers a methodology for determining whether to build or buy
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Summarises key considerations when implementing in-house builds, including the need to build a cross-functional team (XFT) and identify ‘business and functional requirements’ and ‘non-functional requirements’ (NFRs) for a strategic foundation, not just today’s problem
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Identifies, assesses and compares different approaches to in-house builds, including custom code, generic software frameworks and orchestrators, and payment accelerator frameworks
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Explores learnings and best practices gleaned from over 15 years of payment transformation engagements with Tier 1 banks.
