Ward Thils

Artificial Intelligence: the BNP Paribas European Mediterranean IT teams in Motion Last week we were pleased to bring together representatives of the IT teams of BNP Paribas European Mediterranean: BNP Paribas Bank Polska 🇵🇱, TEB 🇹🇷, UKRSIBBANK BNP Paribas Group 🇺🇦, BMCI Groupe BNP Paribas 🇲🇦, BNP Paribas El Djazaïr 🇩🇿, TEB Sh.A. 🇽🇰, and EM Head Office 🇫🇷. The highlights of this seminar were dedicated to Artificial Intelligence with dynamic exchanges, innovative ideas, and inspiring perspectives for the future of our banks. Artificial Intelligence, with all its promises and challenges, has been explored from various angles. We had the chance to listen to experts, share their valuable experiences and perspectives on how AI is transforming the finance industry. We discussed how we can leverage these technologies to improve our projects, processes and client experience. AI ambition is a strategic commitment from the group to promote adoption, fostering cross-value creation to capitalize on the most relevant artificial intelligence experiences. This was an opportunity for me to provide some perspectives: ✅ AI is a true Game Changer ✅ AI is no longer Optional ✅ AI is a real Change A highlight of the seminar was the presentation by Francois BENAROYA, who introduced EM’s strategy and ambitions in the field of AI. His vision and ideas have inspired us and strengthened our commitment to staying at the front of technological innovation. We also had the privilege of having Marc CAMUS participate, who shared the IT ambitions of the BNP Paribas, emphasizing the importance of production quality, cybersecurity, and transformation towards the cloud, while delivering customer-centric solutions. Thomas Courtois (President of Nickel ) gave us the pleasure of coming to speak about the success of Nickel and to share his vision of the contribution of AI in the development of the business. In addition, we also had other speakers : Vincent D. ( EM AI Leader ), Kristof Meganck ( Chief Data Officer of BNP Paribas Fortis ), and Xuan-Son NGUYEN ( CTO AI & Innovation of BNP Paribas ). Each of them brought enriching perspectives on the future of AI and technological innovation. This seminar has strengthened our resolve to explore the infinite possibilities offered by AI. We are in motion to put the acquired knowledge into practice and to see the positive impacts. Stay connected and keep moving forward together towards an exciting future with AI. #Innovation #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #TechTalks #WeArePioneer

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European payment sovereignty is moving forward. After unveiling their cooperation in June, the EuroPA | European Payments Alliance (Bancomat, Bizum, MB WAY, Vipps MobilePay) and EPI Company are pleased to report that the exploratory phase of their partnership, to interconnect their solutions through a central technical hub, based on European standards and infrastructure, is approaching its successful completion. 🎯 The ambition: enabling more than 120 million combined customers across 13 markets in Europe, to send and receive money instantly with friends and family and to make purchases online and in-store, with seamless cross-border reach across Europe, while continuing to use their preferred solutions. A key milestone toward a truly sovereign and integrated European #payments infrastructure, serving both consumers and merchants. An ambition BNP Paribas is proud to support. 🤝

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👁️🐝Ⓜ️ My new banking research is now available! 🥁🥁🥁 💥THE 94% CORE BANKING PROBLEM: What derails modernisation—and actionable insights from CIOs💥 offers a detailed analysis of why most banks' transformation projects fail, often exceeding planned timelines and delivering inadequate return on investments. Drawing from a survey of over 500 CIOs and nearly 200 Chief Data/AI Officers, the study shares key client insights on solving these issues: AI can speed up development by handling application interdependencies, while deliberate hybrid cloud strategies and adherence to industry standards enable successful navigation of modernisation challenges. 💸 WHY do projects fail and go over budget? 94% of banking modernisation projects extend beyond their planned timelines, with morethan 50% of CIOs reporting higher costs than expected. The three main factors are unexpected security considerations (56% of cases), difficulty resolving critical dependencies while changing the core (53%), and ensuring availability of cloud expertise (52%).   🏎️ HOW can AI help accelerate transformation efforts? More than 50% of banks have started utilising AI to speed up IT development processes, with over 90% planning to incorporate it by 2028. AI serves as an “asymmetrical competitive advantage” by converting “implicit knowledge” into “explicit knowledge” to accelerate code translation, automating visualisation of complex system architectures, and addressing interdependencies across application ecosystems.   ☔️ WHAT are the biggest risks when scaling AI? While only 33% of executives see lack of risk management support as an immediate challenge, this will intensify as banks scale AI enterprise-wide. Key risks include unclear accountability for AI use case outcomes, risk of creating “exponential surge in complexity” if AI speeds development without architectural clarity, the need for stress-test simulations, and real-time risk controls. This IBM Institute for Business Value research is further enhanced by perspectives from executives at leading institutions who granted me their time to learn from the voice of the makers: 🇹🇷 Akbank, 🇨🇴 Bancolombia, 🇳🇴 DNB, 🇿🇦 FirstRand, 🇮🇹 Intesa Sanpaolo, 🇧🇷 Nubank, 🇧🇷 Santander GetNet, 🇨🇦 TD Bank, 🇸🇬 UOB, and 🇨🇦 Zafin. --- I have uploaded a quick summary, but you can download the full report here and let me know your thoughts in comments ⤵️ 📥 https://lnkd.in/gzhXm4XQ This study is essential reading, thanks in advance for your time. IBM #IBM

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Core banking is mid-sized banks’ greatest handicap. Thousands of smaller banks are stuck on outdated infrastructure. And yet very few players are paying attention to this multi-billion gap.   𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴:    • Core banking systems are back-end software that banks use to manage their most critical processes, from transactions to accounts and to all kinds of day-to-day operational needs.   • Originally developed in the 1960s and 1970s, they are instrumental for banks: they influence costs, time-to-market, operational efficiency, and product sophistication. In essence the ability to innovate.   • Initially seen as the banks’ competitive edge, they have gradually turned into a handicap as their performance and sophistication can no longer match the needs of a digital world and competition from challenger players.   Today, core banking transformation is the jargon used by banks to modernize their infrastructure. Three shifts stand out:   1)   The move from in-house systems to the cloud 2)   The adoption of open, modular microservices (breaking the core into small, independent building blocks) 3)   AI as a foundational layer   𝗠𝗶𝗱-𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀:    For the largest banks, transformation is a multi-billion, multi-year journey. At the other end, fintechs can build greenfield platforms. Small and mid-sized banks sit in between: too complex to rely on lightweight fintech platforms, too small to justify the cost and risk of mega-projects.   What smaller banks need instead:   • Modular cores they can adopt step-by-step • OPEX-friendly delivery with fast payback, vs heavy upfront CAPEX with delayed value. • Real ecosystems: APIs, partners, and embedded finance options out of the box.   𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀:     That gap is both smaller banks’ main pain point and the industry’s biggest opportunity.   And specialised players are stepping in.   Natech is a good example. It has long served regional banks with reliable core systems, but with its recent funding round it aims to become the go-to choice for mid-sized banks and FIs.   The playbook is absolutely spot-on and shows what the industry should be doing:   • Leverage AI to give smaller banks the same advanced capabilities their largest peers have enjoyed — out of the box and in a way they can roll out incrementally and affordably: mass personalization on the distribution side, smarter credit decisioning, real-time fraud detection, and automated compliance and reporting — all without multi-million IT budgets.   • Growth for mid-sized banks has long been confined to their own branches and apps. Natech’s API-first, cloud-native core unlocks embedded finance — allowing banks to distribute payments, lending, and deposits directly through retailers, fintechs, and digital platforms.   The next generation of core banking transformation will increasingly be customized and segment specific.   Opinions: my own, Graphic source: Natech Banking Solutions Subscribe to my newsletter: https://lnkd.in/dkqhnxdg

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Europe’s new Consumer Credit Directive (DCC2) marks a turning point for our industry. Why? Because the way people borrow has changed, it is now faster, more digital and more fragmented. This new framework aims to protect consumers while creating fair competition among lenders. Let me break down for you the main changes! 1️⃣ 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 ➜ common rules and standards across all countries, to create a fairer competition among lenders and equal protection for consumers. 2️⃣ 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 ➜ Buy Now Pay Later, micro-loans or leasing services are now covered by the same regulation as traditional credit, to end grey areas and ensure a clearer, more consistent and transparent market. 3️⃣ 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝘀 ➜ smarter assessments providing a better balance between access to credit and protection, to ensure loans fit each borrower’s situation. 4️⃣ 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ➜ credit offers that are easier to understand and compare, to help customers make confident and informed decisions. The ambition is about creating more protection for consumers, harmonizing markets and building lasting trust between lenders and customers. From my perspective, I see DCC2 as a true opportunity for BNP Paribas Personal Finance to keep combining innovation with responsibility and make credit even more transparent and accessible for all.

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𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀! RBI is fully prepared for the new era! From tomorrow on, 2 major changes will reshape payments in the EU. It will make transactions faster, safer and more transparent: 🤝 Verification of Payee (VoP) ⚡ Instant Payments (IP) above €100k The VoP confirms that the name & IBAN match before a transfer is made. This significantly reduces fraud and errors, ultimately providing a safer and more reliable payment experience. IPs are already available 24/7 all year long, but now even for amounts above €100,000. This gives customers more flexibility and supports faster, larger transactions, especially beneficial for businesses. What this means for our customers: 🏦 Funds available within seconds 🏦 More security through name checking 🏦 24/7 service all year long, no cut off times 🏦 Higher efficiency in Cash Management and Liquidity Planning Raiffeisen Bank International AG is fully prepared for both, VoP and IP. As a leading Cash Management Bank, we’ve enhanced our digital infrastructure to offer our clients a seamless, secure and real-time payment solutions across all our markets. Simply said, we make it happen. #MakePaymentsHappen #InstantPayments #VerificationOfPayee #CashManagement #Innovation #Raiffeisen #CEE

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