In a strategic push to modernize banking infrastructure worldwide, FIS supports digital transformation by offering banks and financial institutions a comprehensive technology stack combining cloud-native systems, core banking solutions, digital banking platforms, and embedded finance services. This approach is already helping institutions like BMW Bank GmbH in Germany to accelerate deposit growth and streamline banking services.

Across markets, financial institutions are recognizing that outdated legacy systems are holding them back—slowing innovation, increasing operational costs, and limiting their ability to meet regulatory requirements or deliver seamless digital experiences. FIS’s integrated suite of solutions, designed to work individually or together as a modern banking stack, offers banks a practical and strategic path toward digital maturity. One example of this transformation in action is BMW Bank GmbH in Germany, which recently partnered with FIS to migrate more than 300,000 deposit accounts to a next-generation digital banking platform that enhances security, speeds service delivery, and supports growth at scale.

The company’s modernization strategy, driven by cloud-native architecture, API-based services, and AI-enabled technologies, reflects the future direction of banking—where agility, speed, and continuous innovation are essential.

A Modern Banking Stack Built for Flexibility and Growth

FIS’s digital transformation strategy centers around giving banks the ability to modernize at their own pace. Rather than forcing a full system overhaul—which can be risky, costly, and disruptive—FIS provides a modular framework that allows institutions to upgrade selectively and strategically.

At the heart of this strategy is the FIS Bank Modernization Framework, a proprietary architecture that supports incremental transformation. Banks can begin by modernizing core components, customer-facing channels, data processing layers, or embedded finance capabilities depending on their priorities and resources.

Key Capabilities Offered by FIS Include:

1. Cloud-Native Banking Infrastructure

FIS enables banks to migrate to cloud-native platforms that support scalability, cost efficiency, resilience, and high performance. These systems make it easier for institutions to roll out new services, handle higher transaction volumes, and ensure compliance with evolving regulatory requirements.

Cloud-native systems also reduce reliance on on-premise hardware, making operations more efficient and lowering long-term IT expenditure.

2. Embedded Finance Solutions

Through embedded finance tools, banks and non-banking enterprises can seamlessly integrate financial products—such as deposit accounts, lending services, payments, or digital wallets—into their own digital platforms. This allows financial institutions to expand distribution channels and reach new customer segments without building complex infrastructure from scratch.

For many banks, embedded finance opens the door to partnerships with automotive companies, retailers, technology providers, and other ecosystem players.

3. Digital Banking Platforms

FIS’s digital banking solutions support consistent, user-friendly experiences across mobile apps, web platforms, and emerging channels. These platforms are designed for omnichannel delivery, helping banks meet customer expectations for convenience and real-time interactions.

Features include:

• Intuitive interfaces

• Secure authentication tools

• Personalization and customer analytics

• Real-time account management

• Seamless transactions across devices

4. Core Banking Modernization

Core banking remains the backbone of any financial institution. FIS’s core banking tools offer the performance, reliability, and scalability required to support high-volume operations. Modernized core systems also integrate easily with new technologies, APIs, and digital layers, creating a more agile operational environment.

Banks can update their core components piece-by-piece or adopt a full transformation when ready.

BMW Bank GmbH: A Real-World Example of Digital Transformation

One of the most notable demonstrations of FIS’s modernization framework is the collaboration with BMW Bank GmbH in Germany. In 2025, the institution successfully migrated over 300,000 deposit accounts to FIS’s deposit-as-a-service platform.

This migration was not just a technical upgrade—it represented a broader strategic shift aimed at providing customers with a fully modernized, secure, digital-first banking experience.

Using FIS’s solutions, BMW Bank now delivers:

• Secure online banking

• Two-factor authentication

• Merchant transaction capabilities

• A scalable digital interface

• Faster onboarding and account management

• Streamlined access to deposit services

The transformation highlights how banks can use modular, cloud-based systems to improve service delivery without disrupting ongoing operations.

Additionally, the success of this project underscores a widespread trend across global banking: institutions are increasingly abandoning monolithic legacy infrastructure in favor of agile, flexible, cloud-powered architecture.

Why Digital Transformation Has Become Mission-Critical for Banks

The financial services landscape is changing at a rapid pace. Customers expect speed, convenience, and digital-first capabilities from their financial institutions—often comparing banks not to other banks, but to the seamless experiences offered by technology giants, e-commerce platforms, and digital service providers.

Banks with outdated systems struggle to keep up, but modernization offers a path forward.

Here are the major forces driving digital transformation today:

1. Rising Customer Expectations

Consumers want real-time, 24/7 access to their accounts, quick transactions, personalized services, and integrated digital banking tools. Legacy systems, with their rigid architectures, slow updates, and limited API capabilities, simply cannot keep pace.

2. Regulatory and Security Requirements

Financial institutions must navigate increasingly complex regulatory landscapes. Modern digital systems—with built-in compliance tools, secure authentication, and real-time monitoring—make it easier to meet requirements while protecting customer data.

3. Competitive Pressure From Fintech Innovations

Fintech companies continue to disrupt the banking market with agile, innovative products. Banks must adapt quickly to remain competitive, adopt new technologies, and build collaborative ecosystems.

4. Cost and Operational Efficiency

Manual processes, siloed systems, and aging infrastructure raise operating costs. By modernizing with cloud-native and automated solutions, banks can reduce long-term expenses, streamline workflows, and allocate resources more strategically.

5. Need for Faster Innovation Cycles

Modern customers demand rapid rollout of new features—from instant payments to digital identity tools to AI-enabled insights. Cloud-native platforms allow banks to innovate faster and bring new services to market without major system overhauls.

The FIS Approach: Modernizing Without Disruption

One of the biggest challenges in banking modernization is the fear of operational disruption. Many institutions hesitate to replace legacy core systems because of the complexity and risks involved.

FIS addresses this challenge with a model designed to give banks control over the pace and scope of transformation.

Key Benefits of the FIS Modernization Strategy Include:

• Incremental upgrades instead of all-or-nothing migrations.

• Faster time-to-market for new services through API-led modular components.

• Controlled implementation that minimizes risk and downtime.

• Greater operational resilience thanks to cloud-native infrastructure.

• Flexibility to adopt new technologies such as AI, analytics, and real-time fraud detection.

Banks can choose what to modernize first—whether it’s digital channels, the core, embedded services, or data capabilities—and build a long-term roadmap that fits their unique environment.

What the Future of Banking Looks Like With Modern Tools

The evolution of banking is far from over. As digital transformation accelerates, several key trends are shaping the next generation of financial services—and FIS’s modular systems are positioned to power them.

1. Embedded Finance Will Become Mainstream

With embedded finance services, banks can integrate lending, payment processing, deposit accounts, and more into third-party platforms like car dealerships, e-commerce sites, and digital marketplaces. This will unlock new revenue streams and help banks reach non-traditional customers.

2. Digital-First Banking Will Be the Standard

As more institutions adopt cloud-native core and digital banking platforms, online and mobile experiences will become the primary customer touchpoints. Branches will evolve, but digital interactions will dominate.

3. AI-Powered Personalized Banking

Once banks modernize their data infrastructure and APIs, they can incorporate artificial intelligence for:

• Personalized financial recommendations

• Smarter customer support

• Automated fraud detection

• Predictive analytics

• Tailored product offerings

AI will drive the next major wave of customer experience transformation.

4. Faster Innovation Cycles

With modular technology, banks can test new products, pilot services in select markets, gather user feedback, and scale quickly—all without touching legacy systems. This agility will be essential as competition increases.

Conclusion: Modernization as the Key to Future Banking Growth

FIS’s comprehensive digital transformation ecosystem is enabling banks to modernize methodically and strategically—without the risks traditionally associated with large-scale overhauls. By combining cloud-native architectures, embedded finance capabilities, digital banking platforms, and modern core banking solutions, FIS is helping institutions meet customer expectations, reduce operational complexity, and unlock new avenues for growth.

The success of BMW Bank GmbH serves as clear evidence of what banks can achieve when they embrace modernization. As financial institutions around the world confront mounting pressures—from regulatory demands to rising customer expectations—FIS’s modular, future-ready banking stack offers a powerful blueprint for sustainable innovation.

In a world where digital-first banking is rapidly becoming the norm, modernizing technology isn’t just an option—it’s a necessity. With FIS supporting digital transformation across the industry, the future of banking is poised to be more agile, more connected, more intelligent, and more customer-centered than ever before.

FinTech News shares the latest trends and insights on fintech, digital banking, payments, AI in finance, and spend management.