Delivering a Scalable Enterprise Architecture for a Digital-First Banking LaunchBanking & Financial Services
For a new digital bank preparing to enter the African market, launching with speed wasn’t enough - they needed a scalable, secure, and regulatory-aligned architecture that would support long-term innovation.
The leadership team recognized that digital channels, open banking readiness, and core integration had to be built on a unified architecture. They engaged Archisurance to define and guide the enterprise architecture foundation for their greenfield digital banking launch.
Challenge
The bank was at pre-launch stage with a digital-only model, intending to offer retail banking, agent networks, and wallet-based products. However, there was no clear architectural vision, and the vendor landscape (core banking, KYC, credit scoring) was fragmented. Leadership needed a structured way to evaluate platforms, design end-to-end journeys, and support regulatory compliance from day one.
The engagement addressed three critical challenges:
- No unified architecture for digital channels and core systems
Digital onboarding, wallets, and agent management were being developed in silos, leading to duplication and operational risk.
- Vendor sprawl and lack of integration planning:
Multiple systems (core banking, payments, fraud, AML) were chosen independently, without an integration or data governance strategy.
- Lack of regulatory alignment and EA governance:
There was no process to ensure the architecture met central bank mandates or internal risk and compliance controls.
Solution
Archisurance led the definition of the bank’s enterprise architecture blueprint – covering business capabilities, core application stacks, data models, and integration layers. We introduced TOGAF-aligned governance structures, supported vendor evaluation, and defined secure APIs for onboarding, wallet management, KYC, and transaction processing. Key regulatory concerns (KYC, AML, audit, reporting) were embedded into the architecture review process from the start.
Results
The bank launched within regulatory timelines with an architecture that could scale into new regions and support open banking APIs. The architecture became a living asset, used in product planning, vendor onboarding, and compliance reviews.
By the numbers, the effort:
✅ Reduced system duplication across 5 digital channels.
🔗 Accelerated vendor integration by 60% through pre-defined APIs.
🛡 Enabled real-time KYC and transaction compliance across products.
📚 Established architecture governance with quarterly review boards.