Southeast Asia’s banking sector is at a pivotal crossroads. While digital adoption is accelerating, a significant number of banks across the region are still held back by legacy technology. According to recent insights from 120 senior banking leaders in Southeast Asia, 37% identify outdated core systems as a key barrier to digital transformation. These legacy platforms not only limit the ability to launch new products and services but also create data silos, hinder operational agility, and make it difficult to deliver the seamless, personalized experiences that today’s customers expect.
The urgency to modernize is clear. Nearly half of Southeast Asian banks admit they have yet to make significant progress on their digital transformation strategies, despite 73% claiming to have a clearly articulated plan. The gap between ambition and execution is often traced back to the constraints imposed by legacy technology.
Legacy technology impacts Southeast Asian banks in several critical ways:
Customer expectations in Southeast Asia are evolving rapidly, influenced by digital-first fintechs and global technology giants. Improving customer experience is the top digital transformation priority for 24% of banks in the region. However, legacy technology stands in the way of delivering the personalized, omnichannel journeys that customers now demand. Forty-two percent of banks are prioritizing the integration of customer data across systems to better understand and serve their clients, but legacy systems make this integration challenging.
To overcome these barriers, leading Southeast Asian banks are embracing a set of proven modernization strategies:
Modern, cloud-based core banking systems are becoming the foundation for digital transformation. Thirty-five percent of Southeast Asian banks are investing in cloud migration to:
Cloud platforms also make it easier to integrate with fintech partners and third-party ecosystems, opening new avenues for growth.
Breaking down data silos is essential for delivering personalized customer experiences. Forty percent of banks in the region are prioritizing investments in AI, machine learning, and advanced analytics. By integrating customer data across systems, banks can:
Legacy technology is often intertwined with traditional, siloed organizational structures. To unlock the full value of modernization, banks are adopting agile operating models that:
Nearly half of Southeast Asian banks are restructuring teams around customer segments, enabling a more holistic and responsive approach to innovation.
Banking leaders across Southeast Asia recognize that modernization is not just a technology upgrade—it’s a fundamental shift in how banks operate and serve their customers. As one leader put it, “Modernizing the core—through cloud-based platforms and intelligent technologies—is now seen as a critical enabler of both operational efficiency and customer experience innovation.”
Another leader emphasized the importance of agility: “We need to accelerate our organizational agility to deliver faster, better solutions to our customers in order to be much more competitive.”
Publicis Sapient partners with leading banks across Southeast Asia to navigate the complexities of legacy modernization. Our approach is grounded in:
Southeast Asia’s banks are poised for a new era of growth and innovation—but only if they can overcome the legacy technology barrier. By embracing cloud migration, data integration, and agile operating models, banks can unlock the agility, efficiency, and customer-centricity needed to thrive in a digital-first future.
Publicis Sapient stands ready to help Southeast Asian banks accelerate their modernization journeys, delivering the next generation of financial services and building a more sustainable, customer-focused future for the region.