Core Modernization, AI, and the Future of Banking

Banks love to claim they are high-tech and high-touch. The truth is, most are neither, and the gap between what institutions promise and what customers experience is widening fast. It is costing banks billions in lost trust, slower growth, and missed opportunities, especially as expectations accelerate across the rest of people’s financial lives. At Fintech NerdCon in Miami, I sat down with two leaders who are actually closing that gap. Siya Vansia, Chief Brand and Innovation Officer at ConnectOne Bank, and Suzan Chaffin, EVP of Solutions at LoanPro, are showing what modern banking looks like when technology, culture, and leadership come together with clarity and purpose. Our Banking Transformed conversation dives into the real work behind transformation. Not the marketing language, but the decisions, processes, and organizational alignment needed to deliver both speed and empathy. These leaders expose why retrofitting new technology onto old processes always fails, and how banks can rebuild for a future where high-tech and high-touch finally work together. If your institution is trying to modernize, improve experience, or break free from legacy constraints, this discussion offers a practical look at what it takes to move faster and deliver better value today.

What if the biggest myth in banking is that customers don’t need branches anymore? Because every time Bank of America opens a new financial center, digital sales in that market jump by 50 percent. Physical presence isn’t competing with digital — it’s accelerating it. Now, Bank of America is putting $750 million behind a bet the rest of the industry walked away from too soon, opening 150 new financial centers across 60 markets by 2027 at more than $5 million per location. Bold? Yes. Contradictory? Maybe. But the timing suggests something deeper: after shrinking from 6,000 branches to about 3,700, they now believe the future isn’t fewer branches… it’s smarter ones. These next-generation centers aren’t transaction factories. They’re advisory hubs staffed by 12,000 relationship bankers, designed to anchor communities and handle the conversations digital can’t — at least not yet. My guest on the Banking Transformed podcast, Will Smayda, leads this transformation. He’ll explain why Bank of America is expanding while others retreat and what these new financial centers reveal about how clients actually want to bank. So, here’s the question we all need to wrestle with: Is this the future of the branch — or the most expensive contradiction in banking?

Every bank today is trying to appear modern. But you can’t operate a digital institution with a core system that hasn’t been updated since the iPhone was introduced. After years of adding new features on top of outdated infrastructure, the limitations become clear: legacy cores slow innovation, hinder personalization, and make it nearly impossible to compete in an AI-driven world. Modernization is no longer just a tech project. It’s a strategic choice for whether a bank can stay competitive. Banks adopting unified, modern architectures aren’t doing it for appearances; they’re doing it because it provides the speed, flexibility, and resilience that legacy systems cannot match. The good news? Modernizing no longer requires years of planning and implementation. Progressive methods are giving banks safer, lower-risk options to move forward. Today on the Banking Transformed Podcast, I’m joined by Sai Rangachari, Chief Product Officer at Temenos, to explore what modern core banking really entails, why it’s important now, and how banks can update without disrupting their operations.

Nearly half of U.S. households are living paycheck to paycheck, yet millions of financially capable people are denied access to affordable credit. That is not a consumer failure. It is a system failure. I recently spoke at the Hope Global Forums in Atlanta, where the focus is on economic opportunity. I challenged the banking industry to address a blind spot. We rely on outdated credit models that look backward, not at real cash flow, real behavior, or real potential. When credit is denied, education alone does not work, mobility stalls, and banks lose the growth they say they want. Serving the underserved is no longer optional. It is the strategy gap holding this industry back.

The biggest threat to consumer financial health isn’t inflation, stagnant wages, or market volatility, but the financial system itself. Not because it’s failing, but because it’s been silently optimized to benefit the most educated, the wealthiest, and the most sophisticated players. In the new book Fixed, a harsh truth is revealed: from daily saving and borrowing to education loans, insurance, and retirement planning, personal finance is designed to disadvantage the very people it seeks to help. Complexity becomes a source of profit. Friction turns into a deliberate feature. And billions of people, from young families to aging retirees, are left making high-stakes decisions within a system stacked against them. Today on Banking Transformed, I’m joined by the co-author of the book, Tarun Ramadorai. We explore how we got here, why consumers struggle with even the most basic financial choices, and most importantly, what it will take to restore fairness, trust, and transparency. If you care about the future of consumer banking, financial well-being, or rebuilding confidence in the system, this is a conversation you can’t afford to miss.

The biggest competitive advantage in banking right now isn’t scale … it’s speed. According to PwC, GenAI is reshaping the balance of power across financial services, and the banks that move fastest will define the next era of growth. In fact, 58% of banking leaders believe generative and agentic AI will be the single most transformative force in the industry over the next three years, and 55% already consider it their top investment priority—more than any other sector in financial services. What’s truly disruptive is that AI is leveling the playing field. Smaller, more agile institutions now have access to the same intelligence, decision-making power, and client insights that once required massive scale. Speed—not size—is becoming the key differentiator. And this shift is pushing banks from asset-focused growth toward client-centered growth, where relevance, responsiveness, and rapid innovation drive real competitive advantage. Today, I’m joined on the Banking Transformed podcast by Sean Viergutz, Banking & Capital Markets Advisory Leader at PwC, to break down what this transformation means for leaders right now. We’ll explore how banks can redesign operating models, build new capacity for growth, and turn AI from a cost-saving tool into a true driver of client value.

Consumers don’t want more banking messages — they want relevance. And right now, most banks are wildly out of sync with what their communities actually need. Consumers want communication that reflects their neighborhood, life stage, and immediate financial needs — and broad, one-size-fits-all marketing isn’t effective. Hyperlocal strategies are emerging as some of the most powerful ways to drive acquisition, strengthen relationships, and capture market share. In this episode of Banking Transformed, I talk with Fred Cadena, Head of Client Strategy at Vericast, about how real-time data, household insights, and neighborhood-level trends are changing the way banks compete. Fred explains why “relevance beats reach,” how new mover and life-event signals drive growth, and what it takes to activate hyperlocal marketing without adding complexity. If your institution is seeking affordable, data-driven strategies to boost growth in 2025, this conversation provides a clear roadmap — and questions long-standing assumptions about how banks engage with their communities. This episode of Banking Transformed is sponsored by Vericast Vericast’s Hyperlocal Marketing solution is a fully managed, precision-engineered, data-driven approach to personalized digital advertising at the branch level enabling financial institutions to build stronger community connections, increase engagement and conversions, and optimize advertising spend for maximum impact. Vericast.com

In this video, Jim Marous broadcasts from Miami’s Wynwood Arts District — one of the most vibrant creative hubs in the world. Using the evolution of Wynwood as a backdrop, Jim explores why so many financial institutions struggle to differentiate, why creativity has become a strategic imperative, and how banks can learn from brands and artists unafraid to take bold, distinctive stands. From the history of Wynwood’s transformation to the sameness of today’s mobile banking experiences, Jim breaks down the hidden cost of playing it safe and what it will take for banks and credit unions to stand out in a crowded, commoditized marketplace. If you want your organization to compete on something other than price, convenience, or compliance, this episode is a wake-up call — and a path forward.

Today on Banking Transformed, I sit down with someone who never holds back – Kevin O’Leary from Shark Tank. We recorded this conversation live at the Catalyst Strategic Summit in Austin, where Kevin and I explored one of the biggest questions facing the industry today: What is the real future of retail banking—and where do smaller financial institutions still have a competitive edge? Kevin shares his unfiltered views on consolidation, regulation, innovation, leadership, and why he believes niche banks and credit unions may actually be better positioned than the giants if they’re willing to move faster, specialize, and rethink what value really means for customers.

The secret to breakthrough innovation isn't having more resources. It's all about learning faster. SpaceX went from near-bankruptcy to reshaping a $400 billion industry by compressing learning loops from years to weeks. This isn't just a space story. It's a blueprint for any regulated industry. If you change the speed of learning, you'll change the slope of performance. In this video, I share four lessons and one 90-day framework to compress your innovation cycles from months to weeks. Only 11% of banks have successfully scaled digital innovation, and 70% of executives expect non-traditional players to dominate by 2030. The winners won't be the largest institutions. They'll be those who disrupt themselves first. The question is whether your institution is ready?