TD Bank’s small business ops look to speed of operations, reusability, ability to update and cost to upgrade when determining when it’s time to modernize.

If a bank platform is achieving at least 80% of what TD wants it to do, it probably isn’t time to replace the system, Alyson Karow, head of U.S. small business digital channels at the $1.4 trillion bank, told Bank Automation News. She said at Bank Automation Summit U.S. 2023 in March:

For one, if software is set to expire on a certain date, the bank explores extensions or replacements for continued use on its current platform before just replacing it, Karow said.

“When you really challenge those currency assumptions, sometimes you find out that currency is not quite as urgent as it may sound initially,” she said.

However, when a platform has been pushed to its limits, “that’s when it’s really time to pause and look at your options,” she added.

Prioritizing innovation

When it does come time to replace a platform, TD strategically invests in other areas of innovation while the platform is out of commission, Karow said.

The bank, for example, would put its efforts into more data-driven innovations that are not platform dependent, she added.

“If we are halting innovation to modernize a platform, we’re going to miss out on opportunities,” she said, noting that innovating in other areas is critical.

TD Bank continued to invest in innovation in the second quarter; its tech spend increased 20% year over year and 8% sequentially to $499 million, according to the bank’s May 25 earnings supplement.