tashka2000 - Fotolia
Nordea Bank signs Temenos and Accenture for core banking transformation
Nordea Bank AB has chosen the core banking system it wants to build its digital future on, signing Temenos and Accenture as technology partners
Nordea Bank AB has signed an agreement with Temenos and Accenture to implement a core banking platform as part of a major digitisation and simplification programme at the Nordic bank.
The T24 core banking system from Temenos will replace legacy systems including Misys’ Midas and Tieto’s Core Banking Suite. Accenture was chosen ahead of IBM to support the integration.
The roll-out is expected to take up to five years and will be staggered on a country-by-country basis, The bank has yet to reveal further details.
As one of the largest and most complex European banking ICT projects in recent years, the selection process was “extensive”, said Joseph Edwin, head of core banking programme at Nordea.
“It was important for us to choose a vendor that could provide a standard platform across the four Nordic countries," said Edwin.
"Temenos offered the best match to what we wanted to do. Its model bank approach draws from experience across hundreds of banks globally. They’ve used that experience to standardise, so we believe we can quickly put a reliable core in place."
The core banking platform will form a key part of Nordea’s simplification programme aimed at meeting the digital requirements of its 11 million customers.
In 2014, Nordea unveiled the €1bn simplification programme – including new core banking and payments systems – and announced a €350m impairment charge from the decommissioning of the legacy platforms.
Products and processes are currently being simplified.
"The shift to digital is happening fast. We are seeing hundreds of new customers every day getting started with mobile banking and the way they are interacting with us is changing. We need to provide more self-service solutions for our customers, who expect real-time updating of accounts, instant transfer of funds and peer-to-peer payments, but also easy access to personal advice around the clock,” says Edwin.
Read more about banking in the Nordic countries
Banks in the Nordic region are fighting it out in the mobile payments space as they woo a digital-savvy population.
Sweden is close to being a cash-free society as electronic payments have dethroned cash and day-to-day banking has moved online.
Nordea joins the ranks of corporations that believe startup co-operation is the key to innovation in the banking sector.
Selected types of Danish retailer could be permitted to turn away customers who can’t pay electronically.
"The customer interfaces we build on top of the new core banking platform will be driven by a high degree of flexibility. The ideal situation for us is to have a small number of customisable products, allowing flexible access to services plus the convenience of personal advice when our customers want it."
Common architecture
The bank's platform will handle loans, deposits and transaction accounts for customers, and will be provided through a common architecture across the Nordic countries.
Edwin is a key part of the simplification programme but only joined Nordea this year. He is no stranger to digital banking and core banking transformations, having joined from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). Among other roles at CBA, he headed up the delivery stream of CBA’s Core Banking Programme for more than 3 years.
He said the biggest surprise so far is how advanced the Nordic region is in terms of digitisation of the financial system.
“It’s surprised me how little cash is used as a mechanism to transfer value. Driving solutions that are underpinned by that concept is going to be a crucial part of our business,” he said.
