Financial institutions are looking to Jack Henry to improve their infrastructure and digital banking offerings. 

Since June, the following FIs selected the financial services technology provider for their core banking and tech modernization services: 

• $70 million Triangle Credit Union,  

• $2.4 billion Abound Credit Union; and  

• $8 billion First Mid Bank and Trust.  

There has been strong momentum toward core modernization, Jonathan Baltzell, president of bank solutions at Jack Henry, told Bank Automation News. 

Five FIs have signed on with Jack Henry for core and digital banking modernization during the calendar year, according to the BAN Transactions Database, which tracks partnership deals between FIs and fintechs. 

According to Jack Henry’s third quarter earnings call in May, the company has secured a total of 28 new core wins, including 11 during its fiscal third quarter ended March 31 with financial institutions totaling $30 billion in assets, according to the company.

Nonessential core operations 

FIs are moving toward “hollowing out the core” — or moving nonessential operations to the cloud or other operating places — Baltzell said, adding that the Jack Henry’s modern core approach is built on the same principles. 

“Unbundling the traditional monolithic core banking system into discrete, modular services, allows them to be deployed independently, customized and integrated alongside fintech offerings,” Baltzell said.  

“Financial institutions can pick and choose individual components that best fit their needs. This approach enables greater flexibility, innovation and choice by turning core functions into stand-alone, cloud-hosted features rather than one rigid system.” 

That architecture supports incremental deployment, reducing risk and costs, Baltzell said. 

Meshing core, cloud 

Hollowing out the core is not a new concept but rather a maturation of previous trends in banking technology and strategy, JT Thykattil, vice president and research director at consultancy and think tank Forrester, told BAN. 

Most banks are looking to modernize their cores, citing the limitations of their existing solutions as a roadblock to achieving business goals, Thykattil said, adding that banks are evaluating adding processes to the cloud to increase flexibility and scalability. 

Jack Henry’s Baltzell agreed.  

“What we’re building in a cloud-native way couples the tremendous power of traditional core system with the pace of innovation in the public cloud, giving our institutions the best of both worlds,” he said.