How are the top 9 digital banking platform vendors harnessing AI?

If you’ve been following along in this series, you’re now aware of the 3 key things you should keep in mind to responsibly adopt AI, as well as the top potential business and customer applications. But as Chris Shayan, Head of AI at Backbase, formerly CTO of Techcombank, said in our recent interview with him, a platform can be incredibly helpful for accelerating the implementation process, so let’s take a look at how the top 9 digital banking platform vendors are leveraging AI.

Keep in mind that is by no means an exhaustive list of everything each vendor has done with AI, but rather an overview that will hopefully make the search for your bank’s true strategic partner a little bit easier.

• Big picture: Alkami’s approach to AI focuses on boosting customer engagement and optimizing operational processes with predictive and engagement AI models.
• Key solutions: The company launched its first Engagement AI model via its AI Predictive Modeling solution in 2023, according to Finovate.
  • The model combines AI, machine learning (ML), and Alkami’s proprietary Key Lifestyle Indicators® (KLIs).
  • The solution is primarily focused on helping banks grow and scale, with special attention given to enhancing engagement by using KLIs to identify the customers most likely to engage with their products, allowing them to reduce attrition and improve growth.

• Big picture: Backbase’s comprehensive approach to AI centers around helping banks modernize their operations, improve customer engagement, and drive efficiency with the use of Agentic AI.
• Key solutions: In 2024, Backbase launched the Intelligence Fabric layer of the Engagement Banking Platform (EBP) — as reported by IBS Intelligence — a powerful set of data/AI infrastructure and development capabilities that embed natively into the platform.
  • Agentic AI is a highlight, including high-priority capabilities like Conversational Banking, Customer Lifetime Orchestration, Advanced Financial Insights, and AI-Augmented Customer Support.
  • This offering will allow banks to harness the power of data and AI to unlock significant productivity gains within their business-critical customer servicing and sales operations.
  • Data connectivity is another strong point, as the EBP uses the Grand Central Integration Platform-as-a-Service to unify data from various banking systems, creating a single source of truth for banks.

• Big picture: Finastra has focused primarily on using AI to improve the performance and security of its products, as well as automating tasks, unifying data, delivering personalized customer experiences, and supporting ESG initiatives.
• Key solutions: The company announced its partnership with Databricks in 2024 with the goal to deliver customer value with AI and generative AI capabilities, according to Fintech Global.
  • This collaboration resulted in a new data platform, Secure Zone, that offers data ingestion, engineering, and AI solution development tools for its teams and customers.
  • In 2024, Finastra also integrated AI-powered environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scoring capabilities into its working capital solution, Trade Innovation, a solution that was developed in partnership with TradeSun, per PR Newswire.

• Big picture: Infosys/Finacle leverages AI to enhance efficiency, streamline operations, and provide deeper financial insights for banking customers.
• Key solutions: In 2017, the company announced a collaboration with Active.AI to deliver an enterprise AI banking platform, according to Retail Banker International.
  • In 2024, the company launched the Infosys Aster marketing suite with the goal to create engaging brand experiences, enhanced marketing efficiency, and accelerated business growth, per a press release.
  • Infosys Applied AI, part of Infosys Topaz, is another highlight, as it aims to help enterprises adopt and scale AI across their business operations by combining AI, analytics, and cloud technologies.
  • Finacle also boasts multiple AI-powered banking products, including AssistEdge and a Data and AI Suite.

• Big picture: nCino’s approach to AI is centered around using AI and ML to enhance decision-making and operational efficiency for financial institutions.
• Key solutions: In 2019, the company launched nIQ, the company’s AI-driven platform, per a press release.
  • The solution aims to help banks increase efficiency through automation with predictive insights that will help improve the overall customer experience with faster, more informed decisions, particularly in areas like underwriting, lending, and credit assessments.
  • Other notable solutions include Banking Advisor, which uses large learning models (LLMs) to provide real-time information, suggest next-best actions, and more, as well as Explainable AI, a feature that makes AI decisions transparent and understandable for users while ensuring regulatory compliance.

• Big picture: Oracle’s approach to AI is integrated across its tech stack — from infrastructure to specific business applications — allowing banks to enhance enterprise productivity and decision-making at scale while ensuring data security and privacy.
• Key solutions: The company fully launched the Generative AI capabilities of its Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) in 2024, according to their release notes.
  • Key offerings include a Digital Assistant, OCI Data Science, as well as AI for Fusion Applications and an AI Solutions Hub, all of which have the aim to streamline operations, enhance the customer experience, and provide actionable insights across industries.

• Big picture: Q2’s AI strategy involves using this new-gen tech to enhance digital banking experiences, allowing financial institutions to boost operational efficiency, improve customer journeys, and ensure robust security.
• Key solutions: The company launched Q2 SMART, an AI-driven solution designed to provide actionable insights and predictive analytics, in 2024, according to their website.
  • Another notable solution is Q2 Engage, an AI-powered suite that aims to personalize the banking experience, helping banks build deeper relationships with their customers through personalized services.
  • Q2 also uses AI/ML to enhance security measures, detecting and preventing fraudulent activities in real time.

• Big picture: Sopra applies AI in a variety of ways, including everything from predictive analysis to data migration and automation, omnichannel customer service, and regulatory reporting.
• Key solutions: In 2023, the company launched the SBP Core Platform, a AI-powered, cloud-native core banking solution, according to a press release.
  • The solution leverages AI for automating processes, enhancing decision-making, and providing predictive analysis, among other things.
  • Real-time insights help on the employee side, providing banks with actionable insights to improve customer servicing and operational efficiency.

• Big picture: Temenos takes a comprehensive approach to AI, focusing on using responsible, explainable AI to enhance banking operations and customer experiences.
• Key solutions: The company launched its Responsible Generative AI solutions for core banking as part of its Gen-AI-infused banking platform in 2024, according to FinTech Magazine.
  • This solution prioritizes explainability and transparency, helps with secure deployment, and boosts operational efficiency while delivering enhanced customer experiences.
  • Other notable solutions include the AI-powered Temenos LEAP, which aims to help banks modernize their systems faster with the move to a cloud-native platform, and the Temenos Explainable AI (XAI) Platform, which offers real-time, end-to-end smart data management, driven by AI algorithms.

There’s no “one-size-fits-all” winner here. Instead, you’ll need to do a thorough analysis of your bank’s needs, capabilities, priorities, and differentiators in order to determine the problem you’re actually looking to solve. Only then can you look for the vendor that aligns with these key considerations and take the next step. But as we said in our last top 9 list — which may look very familiar to you after reading this one — be sure to look for a platform provider that gives you the freedom to innovate on your own terms and at your own pace. That’s the only way to ensure your collaboration is beneficial, both today and well into the future.

Interested in our approach to AI implementation? Schedule a no-strings-attached demo here and one of our experts will reach out shortly.