In a year’s time, many Commonwealth Bank customers will see their transactions processed immediately as the bank’s technology modernisation department switches to real-time processing.

Most banks store up transactions and process them later in batches. CBA, however, has accomplished roughly one-third of the modernisation procedure necessary to switch their processing to real-time status. With three major steps completed and another scheduled for completion later this year, real-time processing is already being experienced by customers of three banking products—Colonial First State term deposits, and savings accounts for first home buyers and the bank’s staff.

The trick CBA is using to modernise their core banking platform is to sectionalise it. Rather than thinking linearly and changing their banking programmes product by product, the CBA technology department is creating sectional “chunks” of banking capabilities which can be preformed and then assembled and turned to various uses within different products. When all the assorted sectional chunks necessary for a given product have come online, then that product is migrated over to the new technology.

According to a CBA technology modernisation representative, the bulk of retail banking customers should see their accounts switched over within the next calendar year. Lending is the next stop.

CBA’s core banking modernisation project is scheduled for completion within four years;. It’s being undertaken in partnership with Accenture and SAP; however, CBA’s own technology department claims full responsibility for the project’s leadership and scheduling.

The recent acquisition of BankWest by CBA added to the scope of the core banking modernisation project and is expected to cost an additional $150 million. Dave Curran, the executive general manager in charge of the project, nevertheless insists the team will maintain their schedule and not be “bogged down [in] analysis paralysis.”

“These programs are huge,” said Mr. Curran, “and if you allow yourself to get bogged down within them you can actually just spin your wheels. We’ve watched a number of organisations globally both before the program and during the program that [did just that].”

Source: ZDnet