I built this guide because core banking shortlists in the UK and EU are still assembled from analyst quadrants, vendor decks and whoever the systems integrator knows best. I profiled 18 core providers against the same set of criteria: architecture, deployment, product coverage, payment rails, compliance posture, pricing and named UK and EU clients. The market moved a lot this year. Finastra agreed to sell its core banking unit, Deutsche Bank’s Private Bank signed with Thought Machine, and several vendors changed CEOs, so older vendor maps are already out of date.
What this guide covers
I cover 18 vendors that sell core banking or core-adjacent platforms to institutions in the UK and EU, grouped into four categories. For each one I checked official websites, press releases, client announcements and regulator registers, and confirmed ownership and naming as of September 2026. Where a vendor does not publish a data point, I mark it “Not disclosed” instead of inferring it.
Subscribers also get the Excel file with nine tabs: Overview, Architecture and Deployment, Products, Target Clients, Regulatory and Compliance, Payments Connectivity, Clients and Pricing, Regions, and a filterable Master Table with every vendor against every dimension.
The 18 vendors
Cloud-native next-gen cores
Thought Machine: cloud-native Vault Core and Vault Payments, now the default shortlist entry for tier 1 core replacements.
10x Banking: SaaS cloud-native core built for large retail banks and building societies.
Engine by Starling: Starling Bank’s own core and digital banking stack, licensed to other banks as managed SaaS.
Incumbent enterprise cores
Temenos: the largest independent core vendor, selling Transact on-premise, in the cloud or as SaaS.
Finastra: Vista-owned vendor narrowing to lending and payments after agreeing to sell its core unit to Pollen Street Capital.
FIS: US processor selling Modern Banking Platform, Profile and, in DACH, KCORE24.
Fiserv: US account processing giant whose cores have almost no UK or EU footprint.
Infosys Finacle: componentised core and digital banking suite sold as licence or SaaS.
Oracle FLEXCUBE: Oracle’s universal banking core, paired with OCI-only Oracle Banking Cloud Services.
SBS: the former Sopra Banking Software, now owned by 74Software, with a deep UK building society book.
Composable and API-first platforms for fintechs and challengers
Mambu: multi-tenant SaaS lending, deposits and payments engines configured through APIs.
Tuum: modular core, formerly Modularbank, sold module by module or as a full replacement.
Skaleet: EU-hosted SaaS core with a native payments engine for neobanks and embedded finance.
Specialist and regional cores
Avaloq: NEC-owned front-to-back platform for private banks and wealth managers.
ERI: OLYMPIC Banking System, a private banking and wealth core strong in Luxembourg and Switzerland.
Banqsoft: Nordic platform for consumer lending, deposits and asset finance.
Profile Software: Athens-listed vendor of the Finuevo core and Axia wealth platform.
CR2: HPS-owned digital banking and card payments layer that sits on top of a core.
What’s behind the subscribe button
Paid subscribers get a structured profile for each of the 18 vendors covering architecture, deployment and cloud partners, products, target clients, licence status, payment scheme connectivity, security certifications and DORA posture, pricing model, named UK and EU clients, and regional coverage. They also get my notes on 2026 ownership changes and the full Excel file with all nine tabs.
Subscribe to unlock the full vendor profiles and the Excel file.