How Jack Henry is Modernizing Banking Infrastructure
Dec 19, 2024
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Ben Metz, Vice President and CTO at Jack Henry, leads the charge in modernizing outdated banking systems. He reveals how many banks still rely on pre-internet technology and the regulatory hurdles hampering innovation. Metz shares insights on integrating AI and cloud computing into community banks, aiming to reshape the financial landscape. He discusses the critical need for startups to collaborate with traditional institutions and offers practical advice for fintech founders eager to drive change in an evolving market.
Jack Henry's modernization efforts focus on helping community banks overcome outdated infrastructure and regulatory challenges to foster innovation.
Ben Metz emphasizes the importance of leveraging AI and cloud computing to empower smaller banks, ensuring they remain competitive and relevant.
Deep dives
Ben Metz's Journey in Financial Services
Ben Metz transitioned from being a coder at startups to the CTO of Jack Henry, a major player in financial services. His early venture with Bano aimed to create an open banking platform, which was ahead of its time, but ultimately caught the attention of Jack Henry, leading to its acquisition. Metz states that many challenges in banking arise from outdated infrastructure, which was not designed for today’s high-demand digital environment. His experiences highlight the necessity of modernizing banks’ technology to better serve small community institutions, which are crucial to the economic landscape.
The Importance of Community Banks
Metz emphasizes the role of community banks in supporting local economies and entrepreneurs, noting how they provide essential services that large institutions often overlook. He shares personal anecdotes from his upbringing, illustrating how his family's local bank supported their numerous small businesses. He argues that a diverse range of financial institutions is vital for ensuring choice and accessibility for consumers. Metz insists on a shared success model between Jack Henry and community banks, asserting that if these institutions falter, Jack Henry will also suffer.
Challenges of Banking Infrastructure Modernization
The outdated software that underpins much of the U.S. banking infrastructure poses significant barriers to innovation. Metz outlines technical complexities, such as systems built on old programming languages like COBOL and the lack of version control, which hinder progress. He suggests a two-fold approach to modernization: developing a new layer to abstract complexity or entirely rebuilding systems for scalability. Through initiatives like building digital platforms and breaking apart legacy systems, Metz aims to provide smaller institutions the tools needed to compete with larger banks effectively.
Most financial institutions still bank on software built before the internet, but Jack Henry's CTO, Ben Metz, is leading a quiet revolution to change that. Speaking with a16z General Partner Angela Strange, Metz shares how banks’ historical tech infrastructure and regulatory obstacles have stymied innovation—and how Jack Henry is helping them overcome these challenges. Metz outlines actionable ways startup founders can help smaller community banks leverage artificial intelligence and cloud computing, reshaping the industry at large.
Chapter Breakdown:
0:47 Backstory 2:15 Community banks and historical infrastructure 4:30 Pre-internet banking & software realities 6:45 Challenges of scaling historical banking tech 8:30 Building software & COBOL 12:15 Dissecting core banking systems 15:40 How regulatory hurdles impact innovation 18:30 Mobile banking and market shiftsT 22:45 Integrating AI into banking's foundation 25:30 Digital service core to banking 28:15 Where AI will be integrated first 31:20 Advice for fintech founders 34:45 Building a data platform to enable innovation 38:20 Working together: banking & tech startups
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