In a climate defined by inflation, geopolitical uncertainty, and accelerating regulatory demands, banks are sharpening their focus on technology modernisation — with customer experience emerging as the leading strategic driver.
Banks prioritise tech modernisation
At the recent Temenos Community Forum 2025 in Madrid, global banking technology provider Temenos unveiled new research conducted by Hanover Research, based on insights from 424 senior business and IT leaders in financial services.
A Clear Shift
The findings reveal a clear shift: institutions are doubling down on digital infrastructure to remain competitive in an increasingly complex landscape.
The study identifies customer experience as the number one strategic priority for 46% of banks globally.
This is closely followed by the push to deliver new products and services (35%) and the pursuit of greater operational efficiency (34%).
This signals a marked departure from the defensive strategies seen during previous periods of uncertainty, with banks now leveraging technology offensively — not just to mitigate risk, but to drive growth and engagement.
Key to this transformation is the increasing adoption of data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI).
Over three-quarters (77%) of financial institutions report they are investing in analytics and AI-driven insights to anticipate customer needs and market shifts.
Meanwhile, 68% are actively modernising their core banking systems through cloud technologies, creating platforms that are both scalable and resilient.
Digital Transformation
The appetite for digital transformation is not purely speculative.
The vast majority of banks surveyed plan to increase investment in customer protection technologies (84%) and tools to enhance operational efficiency (81%).
In addition, 75% are targeting better systems integration, and 73% are investing in more advanced data analytics capabilities — underscoring a broader industry trend towards intelligent, real-time decision-making.
AI adoption in particular is accelerating.
While only 11% of banks report full deployment of generative AI, 43% are already in the implementation phase.
Importantly, 60% of professionals surveyed view AI as a means to augment rather than replace human capabilities — a perspective that balances innovation with responsible transformation.
Temenos CMO Isabelle Guis captured the mood succinctly during her keynote at TCF: “The message is clear: while banks continue to invest in modernisation, they’re doing so with a close eye on evolving market dynamics… failing to embrace AI soon could leave them behind.”
As financial institutions face an era of unpredictable change, it’s clear that technology modernisation is no longer optional.
It is a competitive imperative — one that will determine not only how banks operate, but how they endure.
The post Banks prioritise tech modernisation amid market volatility appeared first on Payments Cards & Mobile.