For many banks, the idea of replacing core systems in one dramatic leap – the so-called ‘big bang’ approach – feels too risky, too disruptive and too expensive. At banking software provider Finastra, executive vice president of universal banking Siobhan Byron is championing a more pragmatic path.
“Our focus within universal banking has been around helping our customers to reimagine banking,” she told Mark Walker of The Fintech Times at the Dubai Fintech Summit.
That means supporting phased transformation, working with curated fintech ecosystems and using data and AI in ways that enhance, rather than upend, traditional banking models.
Modernising without disruption
Byron describes three priorities currently guiding Finastra’s universal banking strategy: “One is symbiosis… rather than just a big bang approach when you’re talking about core banking, we take a phased approach or a modular approach. Second; embracing fintechs, enabling and curating and helping to bring those solutions to our customers. And then the third area we’re really focusing on is augmented core and data: so how does AI and how does data play into things?”
The key, she said, is helping banks evolve without losing control. “Banks realise the need for change but part of it is, how do they go about it? How do they manage the risk? That’s the biggest thing.”
Finastra helps institutions weigh their options and reduce complexity. “Helping them to embrace the technology transformation in a phased approach can de-risk versus a big bang approach,” she explained. “We do a lot of vetting before someone is added to our ecosystem… but we also are able to offer a lot of insights from what other customers are doing.”
Changing customer expectations
Banks are feeling the pressure to keep pace with shifting demographics and rising customer expectations. Byron pointed out that many are no longer waiting to be dragged into change, they’re starting to push for it. “They need to embrace it because they’re also seeing what’s out there in the fintech side of things,” she said.
For many institutions, that means rethinking the entire customer journey with personalisation, speed and simplicity becoming non-negotiable. “They’re definitely interested in digital… and enabling the experiences that their customers have and making that a seamless, frictionless experience.”
That urgency extends to payments, where the focus is not only on real-time functionality but also on lowering costs. Byron described it as “a really important area” for banks trying to remain competitive.
In markets like the UAE, she added, the demand for instant access to help and services is pushing banks toward more automation and support tools. “One of the biggest areas of fintech adoption is in chatbots… because it does give you that 24×7 access to support.”
Fintech competition, collaboration and convergence
Asked whether banks are ceding ground in cross-border payments to fintechs, Byron said: “They definitely haven’t given up on it.” The level of engagement, she explained, depends on the bank and the market, but the interest is still strong.
She also pointed to a shift in regulatory expectations. “Requirements that the bank would have had to have were now being asked of the fintech,” she said, describing a personal experience with an international payment where know-your-customer checks created unexpected friction. “Now you start to sort of balance that… the speed and frictionless experience wasn’t so speedy or frictionless.”
She believes banks can learn from fintechs rather than fight them. “There’s an opportunity for the banks to leverage some of the tech and some of the fintechs… they’ve figured out some things. Why not embrace it and capture some of that and build it into your processes?”
Cloud adoption and regional realities
Byron also discussed the uneven progress of cloud adoption across global banking, adding that “Europe is ahead… but yet there are still areas that are much slower. Take core banking, it’s cloud adoption has been slower… it’s only now starting to sort of really happen.”
In the Middle East, cloud usage is still tightly linked to regulatory green lights. “Saudi, UAE… it’s not there,” she said. “Banks looking to modernise need to be thinking about, okay, how am I going to modernise, and what’s that going to look like?”
Finastra’s flexible deployment model aims to meet that need because “we can deploy our core banking solution on prem or in a private cloud or public cloud. It gives them optionality and the ability to migrate if they want… at some point in the future to the public cloud.”
Byron added that regional rules around data residency and disaster recovery require thoughtful infrastructure planning. “Providers have to have in-country support… and they have to have the failover in-country too, or in-region,” she said. “Unless there is a willingness… to put in multiple locations in a country, it takes a while.”
Still, she sees long-term upside. “When you’re building something out, you will have the most modern technology… others are looking at retrofitting, and you’ll be getting brand new here,” she said of the Middle East’s ongoing investment in infrastructure.
Optimism for the region
Reflecting on this year’s Dubai Fintech Summit, Byron was positive about the event’s evolution and regional momentum. “I would say, bigger and better than last year,” she said. “It really seems to be growing in terms of the role it has in region.”
She was also particularly struck by the level of ambition. “There was a comment made on stage about wanting to be the fourth-largest financial hub in the world… that’s an impressive ambition. Absolutely, if you don’t have ambition, you’re not going anywhere.”
With demographic tailwinds, regulatory evolution and major investments in digital banking infrastructure, Byron sees the Gulf as a region ready to transform.
