On 10 July 2008, Apple launched their App store and showed that this is an effective and efficient way to deliver software. Since then there have been many companies and financial suppliers who have adopted the App Store approach:

• Deutsche Bank were the first major cash management bank in 2012 to offer an App Market (Autobahn) and by April 2018 Autobahn provides a single point of access to more than 180 electronic solutions from Deutsche Bank’s Global Markets and Global Transaction Banking 
• TreasuryXpress, a leading TMS provider, in late 2016 launched the first TMS app store and has proved very successful
• Thomson Reuters’s Eikon App Studio launched in 2016 allowed customers and vendors to embed their applications, content and work flows, creating an integrated end to end solution. Eikon users benefit by getting access to specialized apps built by diverse providers which are tightly integrated with native Eikon capabilities. App providers now have the ability to easily reach the Eikon user community along with the tools to manage visibility and entitlements to their apps.

Finastra app cloud platform

In 2017 the bank technology vendors D+H and Misys merged to create Finastra. After much thought, Finastra redefined itself as a platform service provider - the store that holds products rather than the product provider. 

At Money 20/20 Europe this week, Finastra launched its FusionFabric.cloud platform. Finastra already had 60 early fintech adopters testing the platform, and the launch opened it up to its 9,000 bank clients worldwide. 

GTR reports that, “The launch of FusionFabric.cloud is a move which will help its clients embrace open banking. The platform enables fintech companies and other “creators” of financial applications (including banks, universities, system integrators and individual developers) to easily build, deploy and operate cloud applications, through open APIs to Finastra’s core banking infrastructure.”

The platform has three core components:

• FusionCreator - an environment in which financial applications can be developed quickly without much code or integrated API management tools
• FusionOperate - a management system that can deploy and operate applications in a secure cloud infrastructure
• FusionStore - online marketplace where banks can search, try and buy applications.

Possible Bank reaction

A recent Celent survey showed that banks could be sympathetic to this approach:

Source & Copyright©2018 - Celent

American Banker report that, “Finastra hope that the platform will allow banks to on-boardingoard new products much more quickly. The launch of FusionFabric.cloud is a move which will help its clients embrace open banking. The platform enables fintech companies and other “creators” of financial applications (including banks, universities, system integrators and individual developers) to easily build, deploy and operate cloud applications, through open APIs to Finastra’s core banking infrastructure.”

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CTMfile take: Finastra’s web-site shouts: “The future of finance is open:  Leveraging the combined strength of Misys and D+H to create Finastra, we’ve developed a dynamic, open platform that lets financial institutions integrate new technology seamlessly – bringing new products to market more quickly and creating a better customer experience.” But it will all depend on how the banks - the customers - react and whether Finastra can keep adding established fintech brands, just like any other open App Store.