Building a bank in 12 months
Key takeaways
Transform to reap the benefits of the digital age.
Banking transformation is essential, yet it is also challenging, risky and expensive. GFT and Engine by Starling have joined forces to derisk and accelerate banking transformation with a unique approach that is firmly rooted in practical reality.
They are the power behind Salt Bank, Romania’s first cloud-native digital bank, which was designed, built and launched in under a year. From the outset, customers of Salt bank enjoyed a world-class digital banking experience, including rapid onboarding, multicurrency transactions and full integration with local payments and card schemes.
The success of Salt Bank is a triumph of collaboration in the digital age.
A simpler, faster road to bank digitalisation.
Built on proven methods and world-class technology.
- A complete, working solution: because it was built to power Starling Bank in the UK, the Engine's platform provides a fully functional bank that can be stood up on Day 1. It has been proven and stress-tested at scale over the last 7 years.
- A pre-integrated approach: unlike existing composable models, where multiple solutions need to be stitched together, Engines' capabilities are modular, pre-integrated, and designed to work in harmony.
- Flexible and configurable: while being a comprehensive solution, Engine is also flexible and configurable with the ability to adjust, remove or replace modules and capabilities as needed.
- Engine’s Management Portal: a single pane of glass that gives employees a 360° customer view and provides them with all the tools they need to work effectively and better serve customers.
- A managed service and SaaS-based offering: Engine is a managed service with modern architecture deployed on public clouds. A continuous delivery model takes away the burden of managing expensive updates, patching and support, lowering risk and IT operational costs.
Video from our recent GFT, Engine by Starling and Salt Bank event
FAQ: Building a Bank in 12 Months
How can a bank be built and launched in just twelve months?
A bank can be launched within twelve months by leveraging a proven, cloud‑native, pre‑integrated platform alongside an execution model supported by experienced transformation partners. Salt Bank provides a real‑world example: it was designed, built, and launched in under a year using Engine by Starling combined with GFT’s global delivery model.
This approach uses ready‑made digital banking capabilities, a “follow‑the‑sun” engineering model, and API‑driven integration - accelerating development while reducing risk.
For a step‑by‑step explanation of this model, download the full Thought Leadership report.
What transformation models can banks choose when modernising their core?
Banks typically choose between three models: a full core replacement (“rip and replace”), a greenfield digital bank under an existing or new brand, or a progressive migration using a parallel core.
Modern approaches favour progressive models, enabling banks to migrate specific capabilities - such as real‑time payments - incrementally. A parallel core allows innovation without disrupting legacy systems and supports a two‑speed architecture.
For guidance on selecting the right model, download the Thought Leadership report.
Why is cloud technology essential for modern digital banking?
Cloud technology has become a foundational pillar of bank transformation because it provides elasticity, real‑time scalability, operational resilience, built‑in disaster recovery, and cost efficiency.
Beyond infrastructure, cloud adoption enables modern ways of working - API ecosystems, microservices, DevOps, continuous delivery - and supports data‑driven capabilities such as machine learning and real‑time streaming analytics.
For a full breakdown of the strategic impact of cloud, download the Thought Leadership report.
