In today’s fast-evolving financial landscape, regional banks across Asia Pacific, Latin America (LATAM), and Europe face a unique set of challenges and opportunities. The pressure to modernize payment platforms is mounting, driven by shifting customer expectations, the rise of digital wallets and embedded finance, and a rapidly changing regulatory environment. For regional banks, the path to innovation is not just about adopting global best practices—it’s about tailoring solutions to local realities, from open banking mandates to data residency laws.
Regional banks operate at the intersection of global trends and local requirements. While the need for instant, seamless, and secure payments is universal, the regulatory and market context is anything but. Consider the following region-specific challenges:
For regional banks, the stakes are high: failure to comply can mean regulatory penalties, while slow innovation risks losing customers to agile fintechs and global competitors.
Publicis Sapient’s proprietary AI-powered platform, Sapient Slingshot, is engineered to help regional banks navigate this complexity. Slingshot is not a one-size-fits-all solution—it’s a transformation accelerator that adapts to the unique regulatory, technical, and customer demands of each market.
Slingshot’s Backlog AI instantly generates a comprehensive set of requirements for payment platforms, informed by both global standards and local regulations. For example, a bank in Europe can ensure its backlog includes PSD2-compliant APIs, GDPR data handling, and ISO 20022 messaging, while a LATAM bank can prioritize local AML/KYC controls and support for regional payment schemes. Teams can further refine these requirements, adjusting acceptance criteria to reflect specific business and compliance needs.
Once requirements are set, Slingshot’s AI generates detailed architecture diagrams and technical specifications. The resulting design is:
This modularity is crucial for regional banks needing to support both established and emerging payment rails, or to integrate with local fintech ecosystems.
Slingshot integrates directly with project management tools like JIRA, ensuring traceability from requirements through to deployment. Its code generation engine creates production-ready microservices for each payment function—initiation, orchestration, settlement—aligned with local compliance needs. Automated documentation and test cases accompany the code, reducing manual effort and accelerating time-to-market.
Security and compliance are embedded from day one. Slingshot’s AI agents automatically apply best practices for authentication, encryption, and secure API design. Automated regulatory checks validate that the platform meets:
This ensures that regional banks can launch new payment services with confidence, knowing compliance is built in—not bolted on.
Before going live, Slingshot runs automated tests for functional correctness, performance, security, and regulatory compliance. Behavior-driven development (BDD) feature files and step definitions are generated from acceptance criteria, ensuring that testing is comprehensive and aligned with business goals. Dynamic reports provide clear visibility into test results and any issues that need resolution.
Once validated, platforms can be deployed to cloud or on-premise environments, with automation extending to infrastructure setup, CI/CD pipelines, and ongoing monitoring. This supports continuous delivery and rapid iteration as regulations or business needs evolve—critical for regional banks facing frequent regulatory updates.
Regional banks leveraging Sapient Slingshot have achieved:
Regulatory mandates—such as ISO 20022 adoption, open banking, and data residency laws—are not just hurdles; they are catalysts for modernization. With Slingshot, regional banks can:
With decades of experience and a proven track record with 85% of the world’s top banks, Publicis Sapient brings together deep domain expertise, advanced AI, and a robust code library to deliver payment platforms that are future-ready. Sapient Slingshot is more than a tool—it’s a strategic partner for regional banks seeking to balance compliance, innovation, and customer-centricity.
Ready to modernize your payment platform for your region’s unique needs? Connect with our experts to see how Sapient Slingshot can accelerate your journey to compliant, innovative, and scalable payments.