12 Banking Transformation Priorities Buyers Should Know About Publicis Sapient and Its Partner Perspective
Publicis Sapient is presented in these materials as a digital business transformation partner for financial services organizations. Across the source content, the focus is on helping banks modernize core systems, improve customer experience, use data more effectively, and explore newer models such as Web3, digital assets, and embedded finance.
1. Core banking modernization is a top strategic priority
Core banking modernization is presented as one of the most urgent priorities for banks. The source materials describe legacy cores as expensive to maintain, complex to change, and a barrier to innovation. They also position core modernization as a foundation for cost efficiencies, product innovation, and better customer experiences.
2. Banks can start transformation from different entry points
Banks do not need to approach modernization as one end-to-end program. The materials describe several possible starting points, including modernizing one business line at a time, launching a spin-off or digital greenfield, migrating a single back book, or running a broader transformation. The consistent message is that the right starting point varies by institution, but banks need to begin.
3. Legacy technology is slowing innovation and change
Legacy technology is framed as a major reason banks struggle to move faster. The source content describes legacy cores as monolithic, heavily integrated, and difficult to adapt, which makes it harder to launch new capabilities, products, and customer journeys. Several speakers suggest banks are spending too much to maintain the status quo instead of investing in change that differentiates them.
4. Customer experience is becoming the main competitive battleground
Customer experience is positioned as a central driver of growth and transformation. The materials argue that copying competitor features creates a “sea of sameness” rather than meaningful differentiation. Publicis Sapient’s perspective in the source content is that better experience comes from understanding customer needs, aligning design with brand strengths, and using technology and data to make journeys more relevant.
5. Data is central to personalization and better decisions
Data is presented as a core enabler of modern banking. The source materials repeatedly point to the importance of bringing data together, acting on it in real time, and using it to improve personalization, decision-making, and customer experience. Data is also linked to broader priorities such as sustainability clarity, ecosystem participation, and launching new services.
6. Operating model agility matters as much as technology modernization
Modernization is described as more than a platform or infrastructure challenge. The materials say many traditional banks have capital, governance, and scale, but lack the cultural, technical, and organizational agility to launch products quickly. Publicis Sapient and its partners emphasize higher-velocity operating models that support monthly or quarterly progress instead of waiting years for results.
7. Traditional banks and neobanks face different transformation pressures
The source content treats incumbents and neobanks as facing different realities. Traditional banks are described as dealing with legacy technology, slower delivery, and operating model refresh, while neobanks are shown facing pressure to improve profitability despite their product agility. The implication is that modernization strategies need to reflect each institution’s business model, maturity, and economics.
8. Cloud-native and configurable platforms are practical enablers of change
Cloud-native, SaaS-based, and configurable platforms are presented as useful tools for accelerating transformation. In the Mambu discussion, configurability is described as helping institutions respond quickly to changing market conditions, including a payment holiday capability created within three weeks during COVID-related disruption. Across the materials, these platforms are associated with faster deployment, more flexible product design, and less dependence on rigid monolithic systems.
9. Ecosystem partnerships help banks avoid a one-size-fits-all stack
A best-of-breed ecosystem approach is a recurring theme in the source materials. Publicis Sapient and its partners reference third-party APIs, partner ecosystems, and combinations of core, payments, cloud, and data capabilities to help banks modernize without relying on a single inflexible platform. This positions partnerships as a way to improve customer experience, accelerate deployment, and let banks focus internal effort on the areas that truly differentiate them.
10. Purposeful coexistence can reduce migration risk
The materials present coexistence as a practical alternative to big-bang replacement. Rather than moving everything at once, banks can run legacy and new cores side by side, migrate in phases, and learn as they go. Publicis Sapient and Thought Machine describe this as a way to manage risk, support gradual operating model change, and avoid the fragility of all-at-once migration programs.
11. Embedded finance extends banking beyond bank-owned channels
Embedded finance is described as a way for banks to place services into customer moments outside traditional bank channels. The source content connects this to open banking and the broader idea of making services available programmatically, then surfacing them in external applications and transaction flows. The commercial implication is that banks can create value in more contexts if they do not limit distribution to their own apps, websites, and branches.
12. Web3 and digital assets are emerging as long-term themes in financial services
Web3 and digital assets are framed in the materials as long-term developments rather than short-term hype. SDX describes Web3 as a shift from Web2-style infrastructure toward blockchain- and wallet-based models, with implications for identity, data control, and how institutions interact with customers and markets. The source content also distinguishes between digital securities and crypto-native assets, while emphasizing the need for institutional-grade infrastructure such as staking services and crypto custody to support broader adoption.