Salt, GFT and Engine by Starling set new digital banking benchmark in Europe

Digital bank built in under 12 months debuts with cutting-edge technology and rapid customer onboarding

LONDON, May 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Salt Bank, a new digital bank in Romania's financial landscape, has launched less than one year after the project was kicked off. Salt Bank is the first neobank using Engine by Starling's core banking system outside of the vendor's parent company, Starling Bank. It was implemented in partnership between GFT, Salt Bank and Engine by Starling. This continues a transformative trend GFT sees in financial services and beyond. Organisations are reinventing their technology capabilities, adopting a 'platform of platforms' approach. This involves consuming ready-made capabilities from the wider industry.

GFT was engaged to provide overall design and integration services, relying on their deep expertise. The company specialises in launching banks on next-generation technologies. GFT developed onboarding capabilities as well as the technology model for Salt Bank. This will allow Salt to manage its ecosystem of services providers as its success grows.

"The launch of Salt Bank showcases our global leadership in digital banking on modern platforms. This is the latest of many modern banking platforms we have launched worldwide in the last two years," said Carlton Hopper, Engine by Starling Executive Sponsor and UK Managing Director at GFT. "We delivered an integrated, tailored, robust and secure banking platform for Salt. And as the first to deploy Engine's flexible platform, the programme sets a new standard. It incorporates all the innovation from Starling, enhancing efficiency in the industry."

"Our collaboration with GFT has set a new benchmark for digital banking," added Gabriela Nistor, CEO of Salt Bank. "Salt's rapid onboarding and advanced features reflect our commitment to providing seamless, cutting-edge financial services to our customers. GFT's dedicated team of specialists have excelled in delivering our new bank within a very challenging timeframe."

Fully automated customer onboarding and advanced features

One of Salt Bank's early achievements is its fully automated and secure customer onboarding process, which takes just a few minutes. The bank onboarded over 100,000 customers within the first two weeks of the launch. Within a month it exceeded 200,000, highlighting the ease of use and robustness of the system. And with strong customer interest, Salt Bank is on track to reach its target of 1 million customers with the first three years of operation. 

Salt has also offered advanced features, such as multi-currency accounts and cards from the outset. GFT's focus on customer centricity ensured that Salt Bank's services enhance the overall banking experience. To that end, they are precisely tailored to the local customers' habits and needs.

International cooperation and capability building

The implementation was a truly international effort, with contributions from GFT teams in the UK and Poland. Beyond technology, GFT also brought banking industry knowledge. They helped Salt Bank establish their programme, execute the transformation and launch readiness, and help prepare the new Salt Bank team for their future success. The project also highlights the importance of GFT's partnerships with Engine and other partners for transformation across the industry.

"Our platform was effectively integrated by GFT for the Romanian market, delivering feature-rich and highly personalisable banking products that can be deployed around the world to attract impressive customer volumes. GFT's specialist team delivered the implementation and they see the significant potential of our platform," said Sam Everington, CEO, Engine by Starling.

With its modern approach and customer-focused services, Salt Bank is poised to influence the future of digital banking in Europe and beyond, showcasing how effective partnerships and focus on the customer can enhance banking technology and customer experience.

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