GFT & Engine by Starling: Partnering for Banking Evolution
In an exclusive interview with FinTech Magazine, executives from GFT and Engine by Starling (the SaaS platform powering Starling Bank, among others) discuss their strategic partnership aimed at revolutionising digital banking infrastructure across multiple markets.
Cloud-Native Expertise Meets Banking Innovation
GFT, the technology consultancy with 12,000 employees across 20 markets, sees the partnership as a natural extension of its expertise in cloud-first solutions and microservices architecture.
Thomas Cozzolino, Chief Strategy Officer at GFT, explains: “As we started working with Engine by Starling, it became clear their technology was sophisticated and exactly in our wheelhouse. We're all about cloud-first, microservices and extensibility.”
The collaboration leverages GFT's extensive integration experience with Engine by Starling's proven banking technology. “It was like falling off a log, but exciting because of the speed the customer wanted to move at and our ability to blend our multi-team, multi-region approach,” says Thomas.
“No bank ever says, 'You've got this awesome set of capabilities, where do I sign?' They want to see where you've done it already, which teams you're bringing to the table, and get a tangible look and feel.”
Proven Track Record Drives Market Confidence
For financial institutions considering new technology partnerships, demonstrated success is crucial.
Nick Drewett, Chief Commercial Officer at Engine by Starling, points to the SaaS provider’s impressive operational metrics.
He says: “If you look at Starling Bank's performance, we have very high customer satisfaction ratings and very low cost to serve. We've never had an outage. That is the advantage enabled by running the bank on a single cloud-native platform.”
The partnership is particularly focused on established banks grappling with legacy system challenges.
“The message resonates with established banks that have all the problems of legacy systems in terms of cost and lack of agility. Their customers are increasingly demanding better digital experiences,” Nick adds.
Strategic Growth and Market Opportunities
Looking ahead to 2025, GFT sees multiple opportunities across the banking spectrum.
As Thomas notes: “Whether it's neobanks that investors want to start up, large banks looking to launch spinoffs or credit unions – even initiatives to serve unbanked or underbanked populations – these digital banks with a sophisticated mobile experience are attracting significant interest.”
The partnership emphasises measured growth and proven delivery over rapid expansion, focusing on building trust through successful implementations.
“We're going to be very sensible about this because it's critical in banking to deliver,” Nick explains. "We want to build these long-term relationships that banks have enjoyed for many years with their existing providers.
“Rather than talking about sales forecasts, we want to deliver each project as it comes, having every client as a reference with clear proof points, and then the word will spread.”
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