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The End of Cost-First Thinking in BFS Tech Partnerships
The End of Cost-First Thinking in BFS Tech Partnerships

May 22, 2025

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After two decades of navigating platform and product engineering—and responding to over a thousand RFPs—I can say with certainty: the past three years have reshaped the industry more radically than the previous twenty.

Banking, financial services, and fintech firms are no longer just transforming their tech stacks—they’re transforming what they expect from technology partners. The benchmarks have shifted. The playbook has changed.

The era of cost-cutting is over. Today, it’s all about co-creating value.

Here’s what I’m seeing in the market—and what it means for tech providers aiming to stay relevant.

Five Seismic Shifts in Buyer Expectations

1. From Cost Arbitrage to Co-Architecting Growth

Clients aren’t looking for vendors—they’re looking for collaborators who understand their business DNA. Delivering hours is no longer enough. Delivering measurable impact is the new baseline.

One mid-tier digital bank chose us—not because we were the lowest bidder—but because we cut their customer onboarding time by 40%, directly improving their conversion funnel. Another fintech we work with accelerated product releases by clearing their backlog and fast-tracking payment integration—reducing time-to-market and unlocking scale.

2. From Fast Delivery to Faster Innovation

Speed still matters, but not in the way it used to. Clients now prioritize how quickly they can experiment, iterate, and launch AI-embedded financial offerings. A wealth-tech firm we partner with leverages our AI accelerators to test new product features within days—not weeks—because in their world, quick feedback loops are more valuable than rapid code drops.

For another client in the compliance space, we enabled a switch from a legacy licensed database to an open-source solution. The result? $7 million saved, without compromising on performance or regulatory requirements.

3. From Big-Bang Modernization to Modular Evolution

Today’s modernization mandates aren’t about ripping and replacing. Clients prefer incremental transformation with minimal disruption. A global bank we support is gradually layering cloud-native services onto existing COBOL systems—balancing innovation with operational stability. Security and compliance aren’t bolted on later—they’re baked in from the outset.

4. From Compliance Obligation to Competitive Advantage

Regulatory adherence used to be a line item. Now, it's a strategic lever. Firms want partners who can turn complex mandates into resilient, automated workflows. We recently helped a client use GenAI to translate U.S. Fed directives into executable compliance logic. What was once considered cutting-edge is now expected.

5. From AI Experiments to AI-First Platforms

There’s no room for AI “curiosity” anymore. GenAI is table stakes. Whether it’s fraud prevention, hyper-personalization, or AI-assisted development, clients expect solutions that are production-ready and domain-specific. McKinsey’s 2024 report backs this up: 72% of BFS CIOs now place AI maturity and regulatory insight above cost when selecting partners. Yet, many tech vendors are still pitching slideware.

What Clients Are Actually Looking For

As these shifts take hold, here’s what BFS and fintech buyers are really asking from their technology partners:

- Regulatory + Domain Mastery: Understanding frameworks like Basel III or PSD2 is no longer optional. Technical expertise must be complemented by regulatory fluency.

- AI Embedded at the Core: From development sprints to operations, document processing, and fraud analytics—clients want AI built into every layer of the stack. Especially in fintech, this includes GenAI-powered credit scoring, smart customer support, and predictive financial workflows.

- New Commercial Models: Outcome-based contracts and milestone-driven pricing are gaining ground. Clients want partners who have skin in the game—not just polished SOWs.

- Non-Disruptive Transformation: Whether it’s a cloud migration or core platform overhaul, clients demand seamless execution. No downtime. No excuses.

- Speed with Safety: Agility is key—but not at the cost of governance. Tech providers must enable rapid product cycles without compromising control, security, or compliance.

 

A Final Thought: Are You Evolving Fast Enough?

The BFS and fintech landscape is entering a new chapter—one that rewards conviction over cost. If you're a buyer reconsidering your tech stack or a vendor reevaluating your relevance, ask yourself:

  • Are we building for scale and agility?

  • Are we embedding AI where it matters most?

  • Are we aligned on outcomes, not just effort?

Because the next RFP won’t be awarded to the cheapest bidder—it’ll go to the partner who proves they understand where the industry is headed.

About Author:

With over two decades in platform and product engineering, Vaibhav Sumant leads PreSales at Xoriant, helping global BFS and fintech clients navigate the shift from cost-led decisions to innovation-first strategies. He has responded to over 1,000 RFPs, bringing deep expertise in solutioning, bid management, and domain-led value creation. A storyteller at heart and technologist by trade, Vaibhav is passionate about building AI-powered, scalable platforms that turn regulatory and operational complexity into competitive advantage


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Xoriant is a Silicon Valley-headquartered digital product engineering, software development, and technology services firm with offices in the USA,UK, Ireland, Mexico, Canada and Asia. From startups to the Fortune 100, we deliver innovative solutions, accelerating time to market and ensuring our clients' competitiveness in industries like BFSI, High Tech, Healthcare, Manufacturing and Retail. Across all our technology focus areas-digital product engineering, DevOps, cloud, infrastructure, and security, big data and analytics, data engineering, management and governance -every solution we develop benefits from our product engineering pedigree. It also includes successful methodologies, framework components, and accelerators for rapidly solving important client challenges. For 30 years and counting, we have taken great pride in our long-lasting, deep relationships with our clients.

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