Introducing “Banking on Composable”

Let’s face it. Behind (almost) every banking experience is a siloed infrastructure, running on monolithic architecture — or, from our perspective, borrowed time. You’ve no doubt seen snippets referring to “composability” or “composable tech” during your daily news scroll. But what, might you ask, is composable? Composability is the broad notion that complex systems can be built by combining simpler components, and it’s a concept that’s been gaining traction across technology and culture. It could and should replace the monolith. But, why does this matter? And how is it going to revolutionize these industries?

Those are just some of the questions we’ve tasked ourselves to answer in our new series, “Banking on Composable”. We’ll be sitting down with interesting people in banking tech to unpack composable banking and what the future of finance could look like.

In this first episode, Cassandra Stumer was joined by fintech influencer, Alex Jimenez, to give us the 411 on composable technology, its tech and business applications, benefits, and what it could mean for the finserv industry.

Without further ado

In case you’re short on time, here are our top five takeaways from episode one. It was hard to choose just five.

1. Composing everything from concrete to Legos

The secret’s out: composable tech is gaining traction across industries. Its building block style approach makes it possible for companies to adapt quickly. As Cassandra pointed out, “it’s kind of like moving from working with concrete to Legos. And a fully Lego bank could be our future.” How? Through the speed, agility, adaptability, and resilience that is baked into a composable approach.

2. Composable: one platform to rule them all

Monolithic tech is designed to be self-contained. Each component and all other components need to be present in order to execute or compile the code for the software to run. And, as Alex pointed out, it often leads to redundancies. Composable is lighter on its feet. Meaning that instead of forcing many different platforms to work together, you would have just one platform that can easily plug into other technologies as needed to get the job done.

3. The Frankenstein of digital experiences

We talk often about digital transformation in the banking industry, and that transformation is largely being powered by emerging technologies. One of the biggest obstacles facing banks today is attracting and even retaining customers. Banks have identified the solution: creating a truly customer-centric ecosystem. But many institutions haven’t found the technology that can get them there. For Alex, we can eliminate the “Frankenstein of digital experiences”, through truly composable solutions. Meaning, composable tech is the vehicle that can get banks on the road to seamless customer experiences.

4. A composable financial future

When we think about the last five to ten years, and the next five to ten years, and the troubling times and tough markets that the finserv industry has faced (and likely will again), could composable tech be the answer? We certainly think it’s worth exploring. Alex believes that broad-stroke transformation of an industry that has been investing in and relying on legacy tech stacks will take time. But he’s optimistic, and pointed out that some banks like KeyBank and Fifth Third are already looking to composable and figuring out how to apply an all-encompassing strategy moving forward.

5. Composing for the next decade of banking

When asked what he was most excited about for the next decade of banking, Alex said, “More organizations are thinking about how they’re going to change their business model. They’re understanding that understanding the customer and changing and improving experiences is key.” Imagining a future where technology is future-proof and we’re able to quickly and smartly enable personalized experiences through modern technology is something to get excited about. And composable tech could definitely get us there.

Want to dive deeper?

• See how the Blend’s Builder Platform is accelerating innovation in banking