Emirates NBD recognised that the world was changing, and that their current technology stack and structure was preventing them executing their strategy. As a result, they decided to re-engineer the entire bank, with more than 100 projects aiming to deliver the digital bank of the future. Central to that, and the focus of this case study, was the need to build a scalable, resilient and flexible payment system to enable them to grow and deliver better products, quicker.
One of Celent’s themes for 2025 is that banks need to look beyond modernizing, and instead transform. What stands out in this case study is how Emirates NBD have not just embraced that, but are living it. And living it across every part of the bank. This case study focuses solely on payments, but that does not do the project justice, as this is one of, if not the, most ambitious payments transformation programmes we’ve ever seen.
Banks have been talking about modernization for decades but are often hamstrung by unique product ‘features’. Few have, before embarking on a redesign, revisited the endgame for the business. Celent encourages banks to not just modernize (i.e. replace old technology with more modern versions), but to transform. As a result, banks should revisit how things are organized and processed—and why. Furthermore, rather than being responsive to change, they should enable change.
At the same time, Celent has said banks need to consider carefully the scope of the change in their payment programmes. A big bang approach has many benefits, but equally many challenges too. Choosing the right partner for this journey is as important as choosing the right products in the first place.
Emirates NBD spent longer choosing the right partner and solution than some banks allow for installing the solution, but with good reason. Alongside this vision, they realised that the transformation will never finish. While specific elements and deliverables will have deadlines, they recognise that change is constant and so approaching the project as an almost organic evolution at the start ensures the build supports this going forward.
