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Backbase Unveils Grand Central as a Game-Changer in Banking Integration

Engagement banking platform provider Backbase has launched Grand Central, its Integration Platform-as-a-Service (iPaaS) offering. This first-of-its-kind solution is intended to bolster banks in accelerating their digital transformation and modernization efforts.

According to Backbase, banks have been allocating vast resources and budgets to establish, maintain, and retire point-to-point integrations among a myriad of technologies, products, and solutions within their technical architecture. Traditional integration with core banking, CRM systems, and external fintechs often demanded hefty custom system integration investments. Such costs brought added intricacies and hampered the pace of digital transformation projects, shifting focus from delivering value to banking clients.

With its unique Integration Platform-as-a-Service, Grand Central furnishes unified APIs, designed to power bank channel applications and third-party developer endeavors. Harnessing the power of a BIAN-based domain model coupled with unified banking APIs, Grand Central will bridges channel applications to a plethora of downstream systems. This includes everything from core banking solutions and CRM systems to payment mechanisms, fintech systems, and beyond.

Utilizing industrial-grade plug-and-play connectors, Grand Central will enable banks to acclerate their market presence and considerably cut down budgetary strains associated with integration. Embracing Grand Central means banks can now synchronize data throughout their various tech stacks, promising uninterrupted digital customer journeys across web and mobile apps under the Backbase Engagement Banking Platform umbrella.

Jouk Pleiter

Jouk Pleiter, CEO at Backbase, stressed the critical importance of this solution, stating,

“Banks today are burdened with aging infrastructure and a very fragmented legacy IT landscape, that makes it difficult to keep pace with changing customer expectations. Our Integration Services team operates as an extension of a bank’s IT organization, simplifying and resolving integration challenges that have hindered many banks in executing their digital transformation strategy. With Grand Central our clients can leverage a BIAN-based, unified API infrastructure, giving instant access to leading financial services technology providers. By combining these powerful capabilities in a unified developer experience, banks can focus on rapid innovation while future-proofing their enterprise integration architecture.”

According to Backbase, Grand Central will bring a universal integration approach, acting as the pivotal link connecting disparate productized ISV solutions and technologies, thus ensuring fluid communication. It will also streamline technological stacks banks rely on, leading to cost savings and improved operational proficiency.

The banking platform provider also claims that as a first-of-its-kind platform that comes with pre-configured connectors and ready-made integration features, Grand Central will make the roll-out of new banking services much more streamlined, positioning banks a step ahead of competitors.

Backbase is also looking to reshape the banking sector further exemplified by their recent rollout of a significant $10 million investment fund. This fund is intended to speed up the connectivity of region-centric products, thus enabling banks globally to refine their operations, optimize expenses, and deliver unparalleled customer experiences.

With a reputation of rolling out complex projects for top-tier financial entities globally, Backbase’s new suite of services encompasses API design, solution structuring, DevOps and CI/CD advice, data transition services, and sustained interface oversight.

Featured image credit: edited from freepik