RBA picks TCS for core banking overhaul

The Reserve Bank of Australia will replace its core banking platform with Tata Consultancy Services' popular BaNCS platform within the next two years.

The renovation of banking applications and systems (ROBAS) program is one of the largest projects currently on the bank's books.

It will modernise a series of legacy banking applications that were stopping the RBA from being fully responsive to the requirements of its federal government customers.

The RBA - Australia's central bank - first hinted at plans to overhaul its core banking technology in mid 2015.

After scouring the market for options, it has settled on the BaNCS platform and awarded TCS a two-year, $13.6 million contract to implement the technology.

The RBA's payment systems process more than 320 million payment and 25 million collection transactions each year.

The BaNCS solution offers loans, deposits, wealth management, digital channels, and risk and compliance modules. It will be hosted on the RBA's infrastructure and interact with the bank's PeopleSoft general ledger.

The RBA expects to complete the deployment in 2019. It has been contacted for comment on the project.

TCS' BaNCS platform is already used by ING Bank, CUA, and MyState, among 300 others worldwide, according to the company.