FAQ
Publicis Sapient is a digital business transformation partner that helps banks and other financial services organizations reimagine their business for a more digital world. In financial services, the source materials focus on helping banks modernize core systems, improve customer experience, use data more effectively, and build operating models that support faster change.
What does Publicis Sapient do for banks and financial services companies?
Publicis Sapient helps banks transform how they operate, serve customers, and deliver digital experiences. The work described in the source materials includes core banking modernization, customer experience improvement, mobile banking benchmarking, data strategy, operating model design, and front-end experience design. Publicis Sapient also works with banks and technology partners to help institutions move faster with less risk.
What problems is Publicis Sapient helping banks solve?
Publicis Sapient helps banks address legacy technology, slow product delivery, fragmented customer experiences, and difficulty turning data into better decisions. The source materials repeatedly describe legacy cores as expensive, complex, and limiting innovation. They also show that many banks are trying to improve customer experience while adapting to changing customer expectations, regulatory change, and economic pressure.
Why is core modernization such a major priority for banks?
Core modernization is a major priority because legacy core systems are expensive to maintain, hard to change, and can limit innovation and customer experience. The source materials say many banks have improved digital channels such as mobile, but have not fully tackled the core. They also describe core modernization as essential for better products, better customer outcomes, and greater cost efficiency.
Does core modernization have to be a full end-to-end replacement?
No, the source materials say modernization does not always need to be a full end-to-end replacement. Banks can start in different ways, including by launching a digital greenfield offering, migrating a single book of business, moving business line by business line, or running a spin-off. The materials emphasize that the right starting point depends on the bank, and that progress matters more than following one fixed path.
What is “purposeful coexistence” in core banking?
Purposeful coexistence means running legacy and modern core technologies side by side for a period of time while migrating in phases. The source materials position this as an alternative to risky, expensive big-bang migrations. They describe coexistence as a way to manage risk, learn as you go, and move customers or products progressively rather than all at once.
What does “coreless” mean in banking?
In the source materials, “coreless” does not mean core systems disappear. It means core systems stop being the center of the banking ecosystem, while data and customers become more central. This approach is described as a way to reduce product silos, support more connected experiences, and create a more flexible architecture for future innovation.
How does Publicis Sapient approach customer experience in banking?
Publicis Sapient approaches customer experience as a growth and differentiation challenge, not just a design problem. The source materials argue that many banks compete on similar features, which can create a “sea of sameness.” They suggest that banks stand out by understanding what customers genuinely value and by building experiences that reflect their own brand strengths rather than copying competitors.
What makes a banking customer experience distinctive instead of generic?
A distinctive banking customer experience is one that is rooted in what customers value and what is true to the bank’s own brand. The source materials show that challenger banks are often praised for features, while some traditional banks are praised for traits such as kindness, politeness, patience, and helpfulness. The main point is that there is no single set of CX rules that every bank should copy.
How does Publicis Sapient use customer data and insight to improve CX?
Publicis Sapient uses both structured and unstructured data to understand what customers value. One source describes analyzing more than 100,000 publicly available banking reviews with natural language processing to compare the language customers use in five-star reviews. The materials argue that unstructured sources such as reviews, service interactions, surveys, and conversations can reveal motivations and themes that dashboards alone often miss.
What does Publicis Sapient say about mobile banking experience?
Publicis Sapient treats mobile banking as a critical everyday experience that banks must get right. In the mobile banking report, the company benchmarked six core journeys across 32 banks in the U.S., U.K., and India. The three main evaluation themes were usability, engagement, and execution, and the report highlights hyper-personalization, inclusive experiences, progressive UI, and expansion beyond traditional banking as key opportunities for differentiation.
Which mobile banking journeys matter most in Publicis Sapient’s framework?
The source materials identify six core mobile banking journeys as foundational. These are viewing balance, adding a beneficiary, managing cards, viewing transactions, making a payment, and accessing help and support. Publicis Sapient presents these journeys as core customer needs that banks must deliver well to become an everyday banking partner.
How does data help banks create better experiences?
Data helps banks make better decisions, improve relevance, and create more connected customer journeys. The source materials point to real-time data and real-time analysis as important enablers of better experiences, similar to how retail and media use data to personalize interactions. They also stress that data should create clarity across customer journeys, sustainability efforts, and operational decision-making.
How does Publicis Sapient think about customer centricity?
Publicis Sapient presents customer centricity as more than a slogan or short-term commercial tradeoff. The source materials argue that many companies struggle because they do not understand the “why” behind customer behavior. They also suggest that true customer centricity depends on going beyond obvious analytics and learning from the broader set of interactions and signals customers already provide.
How are colleague experience and customer experience connected?
The source materials say colleague experience is closely linked to customer experience. Publicis Sapient argues that if banks want to digitize service without losing empathy, they need to improve the tools, workflows, and experiences of customer-facing employees as well. One source explicitly suggests that the path to customer centricity may need to travel through colleague centricity first.
What operating model changes do banks need to support transformation?
Banks need operating models that are more agile, cross-functional, and better aligned to customer journeys. Across the source materials, Publicis Sapient and its partners describe moving away from slow, large-scale transformation programs toward faster, iterative delivery. The materials also emphasize organizing teams around customer problems and business outcomes rather than around isolated departments or technology silos.
What capabilities does Publicis Sapient bring to digital transformation work?
Publicis Sapient describes its digital transformation approach through five connected capabilities: strategy, product, experience, engineering, and data. In the source materials, these capabilities are presented as the core ingredients needed to deliver successful digital transformation. The point is that technology alone is not enough; transformation also depends on strategy, product thinking, experience design, and data.
How does Publicis Sapient work with banking technology partners?
Publicis Sapient works with banking technology partners to help banks combine modern platforms with transformation expertise. The source materials describe partnerships with companies such as Thought Machine and 10x Banking around core modernization, and reference work with partners on faster deployment and stronger customer outcomes. In these examples, partners provide platform capabilities while Publicis Sapient contributes areas such as customer experience, service design, integration, and transformation delivery.
What outcomes does Publicis Sapient emphasize for banks?
Publicis Sapient emphasizes faster deployment, better customer experiences, stronger differentiation, and more adaptable operating models. The materials also point to lower legacy complexity, improved use of data, and more effective product innovation. Rather than positioning transformation as change for its own sake, the sources consistently frame it as a way for banks to create better outcomes for customers and the business.
How should a bank start if it knows change is needed but the path is unclear?
The source materials suggest that a bank should start by acknowledging the need to move and choosing a practical starting point rather than waiting for a perfect master plan. Publicis Sapient and its partners repeatedly say banks can begin from different angles and refine their approach over time. The common message is that banks do not need every answer up front, but they do need to begin.