Bpifrance

At a glance

Project year 

2022

Bank type 

Tier 1

Cloud partner 

SaaS

Geography 

France

Challenges

Bpifrance, the French public investment bank, sought to establish a cutting-edge solution for SMEs by building a new service in the cloud from the ground up. Their ultimate goal was to transition the entire bank from its existing multiple cores to a single core banking platform.

Recognising the constraints posed by traditional, monolithic core banking systems prevalent in the industry, Bpifrance sought to overcome the limitations of speed, scalability, and flexibility. To create a new standard for SME financial services in France, Bpifrance needed a truly next-generation core banking system.

The solution

Bpifrance partnered with Thought Machine and adopted Vault Core, offering a new foundation to address these challenges. Now operating at eight times its previous pace, Bpifrance has successfully launched multiple products on Vault Core – including a two-year commercial loan – demonstrating the tangible impact of this next-generation core system.

Our story

Bpifrance, as the first bank in France to partner with Thought Machine, has been leading the way in modernising the SME financial landscape—this partnership serves as an exemplary case study showcasing the successful usage of a new core system, resulting in improved user experience for SMEs and enhanced operational efficiency.

The collaboration began in the summer of 2021, marking the start of Bpifrance’s transformative journey. In the initial months, Bpifrance efficiently implemented Vault Core. The primary focus was on developing and launching a two-year commercial loan solution – marking the initiation of its product development process. Subsequently, Bpifrance expanded its portfolio by creating and refining various loan products, harnessing the capabilities of Vault Core’s Universal Product Engine.

Bpifrance envisions migrating the entire bank from its existing multiple cores onto Vault Core. This strategic shift aims to simplify the bank’s architecture, providing a clearer view of data, customers, and products. Looking ahead, Bpifrance plans to roll out Thought Machine’s cloud-native payment platform, Vault Payments – delivering real-time payment processing.

Independently building the future of SME financing in France

Bpifrance has independently shaped the future of SME financing in France by internally developing loan products – leveraging our Universal Product Engine and smart contracts capabilities. Vault Core enables rapid development, testing, and deployment of financial products through pre-built and easily customisable smart contracts. Future plans include the introduction of revolving credit and equipment finance products.

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Improving operational efficiency

The successful implementation of Vault Core has reduced Bpifrance’s overall end-to-end process speed, from credit demand to payout, by a factor of eight. Vault Core’s event-driven logic and real-time data streaming contribute to market-leading performance levels, speeding up the entire user journey.

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Enhancing a successful partnership

Following the successful creation of a new loan proposition for SMEs using Vault Core, Bpifrance plans to transition its remaining services to the next-generation core. Additionally, deploying Vault Payments – Thought Machine’s cloud-native payment platform – will offer highly configurable payment flows and real-time processing through Europe’s instant payments scheme.

Bpifrance’s journey with Thought Machine serves as a testament to the transformative power of cutting-edge technology – reshaping the financial landscape in France. This transformation brings efficiency and agility to the market and establishes a robust foundation for future growth.

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Building an ecosystem around Vault Core

By building an ecosystem around Vault Core, Bpifrance aims to leverage its network, experience, and mission to provide French companies with top-notch financing and support, both online and through business managers. As a next-generation core banking platform, Vault Core is API-first – enabling Bpifrance to integrate with third-party vendors effortlessly.