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An independent annual ranking of the core banking systems and ledgers that banks, e-money institutions and fintechs use to run accounts, loans, cards and balances. 12 providers, six criteria, nothing paid for.
Scores out of 100. Each segment weights the criteria differently; the method is below. Facts read on 26 October 2026 from the providers' own pages.
The mean of the 3 segment scores.
| Rank and provider | Score /100 | Status | Strongest for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Thought Machine | 71 | Cloud-native core banking platform | Large banks replacing a legacy core on the cloud of their choice |
| 2. SDK.finance | 60 | Core banking and wallet platform | E-money firms and fintechs wanting a published price |
| 3. Formance | 59 | Open-source ledger platform | Fintech and crypto firms wanting a ledger they can host themselves |
| 4. 10x Banking | 52 | Cloud-native core banking platform | Banks that need published throughput and uptime figures |
| 5. Pismo | 50 | Cloud-native banking and card processing platform | Banks and large firms combining cards, lending and accounts |
| 6. Modern Treasury | 50 | Ledger and payment operations platform | US fintechs wanting a ledger joined to payment rails |
| 7. Mambu | 49 | SaaS core banking platform | Lenders and deposit-takers wanting audited SaaS |
| 8. Temenos | 49 | Core banking software and SaaS | Banks in many countries wanting packaged software or SaaS |
| 9. Tuum | 46 | Modular core banking platform | Banks wanting cloud or on-premise deployment with a stated launch time |
| 10. Zeta | 41 | Card, loan and deposit processing platform | Banks launching card programmes |
| 11. Finxact | 40 | Cloud-native core banking platform | US banks wanting an API-first core with a sandbox |
| 12. Episode Six | 26 | Ledger and card processing platform | Issuers wanting one ledger for cards, credit and deposits |
Weighted to product coverage, deployment choice and regulated standing: a bank needs a full product set it can run where its regulator expects.
| Rank and provider | Score /100 | Status | Strongest for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Thought Machine | 83 | Cloud-native core banking platform | Large banks replacing a legacy core on the cloud of their choice |
| 2. Pismo | 59 | Cloud-native banking and card processing platform | Banks and large firms combining cards, lending and accounts |
| 3. Formance | 59 | Open-source ledger platform | Fintech and crypto firms wanting a ledger they can host themselves |
| 4. 10x Banking | 59 | Cloud-native core banking platform | Banks that need published throughput and uptime figures |
| 5. Mambu | 58 | SaaS core banking platform | Lenders and deposit-takers wanting audited SaaS |
| 6. Temenos | 58 | Core banking software and SaaS | Banks in many countries wanting packaged software or SaaS |
| 7. Tuum | 54 | Modular core banking platform | Banks wanting cloud or on-premise deployment with a stated launch time |
| 8. Modern Treasury | 54 | Ledger and payment operations platform | US fintechs wanting a ledger joined to payment rails |
| 9. SDK.finance | 52 | Core banking and wallet platform | E-money firms and fintechs wanting a published price |
| 10. Zeta | 45 | Card, loan and deposit processing platform | Banks launching card programmes |
| 11. Finxact | 42 | Cloud-native core banking platform | US banks wanting an API-first core with a sandbox |
| 12. Episode Six | 33 | Ledger and card processing platform | Issuers wanting one ledger for cards, credit and deposits |
Weighted to coverage, published pricing, integration and security: accounts, cards and payments at a cost a smaller firm can plan for.
| Rank and provider | Score /100 | Status | Strongest for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Thought Machine | 68 | Cloud-native core banking platform | Large banks replacing a legacy core on the cloud of their choice |
| 2. Formance | 60 | Open-source ledger platform | Fintech and crypto firms wanting a ledger they can host themselves |
| 3. SDK.finance | 60 | Core banking and wallet platform | E-money firms and fintechs wanting a published price |
| 4. Pismo | 50 | Cloud-native banking and card processing platform | Banks and large firms combining cards, lending and accounts |
| 5. 10x Banking | 50 | Cloud-native core banking platform | Banks that need published throughput and uptime figures |
| 6. Modern Treasury | 50 | Ledger and payment operations platform | US fintechs wanting a ledger joined to payment rails |
| 7. Mambu | 48 | SaaS core banking platform | Lenders and deposit-takers wanting audited SaaS |
| 8. Temenos | 46 | Core banking software and SaaS | Banks in many countries wanting packaged software or SaaS |
| 9. Tuum | 44 | Modular core banking platform | Banks wanting cloud or on-premise deployment with a stated launch time |
| 10. Zeta | 42 | Card, loan and deposit processing platform | Banks launching card programmes |
| 11. Finxact | 40 | Cloud-native core banking platform | US banks wanting an API-first core with a sandbox |
| 12. Episode Six | 24 | Ledger and card processing platform | Issuers wanting one ledger for cards, credit and deposits |
Weighted to published pricing and integration: a ledger or core that a small team can start on quickly and pay for as it grows.
| Rank and provider | Score /100 | Status | Strongest for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. SDK.finance | 68 | Core banking and wallet platform | E-money firms and fintechs wanting a published price |
| 2. Thought Machine | 61 | Cloud-native core banking platform | Large banks replacing a legacy core on the cloud of their choice |
| 3. Formance | 59 | Open-source ledger platform | Fintech and crypto firms wanting a ledger they can host themselves |
| 4. Modern Treasury | 47 | Ledger and payment operations platform | US fintechs wanting a ledger joined to payment rails |
| 5. 10x Banking | 46 | Cloud-native core banking platform | Banks that need published throughput and uptime figures |
| 6. Temenos | 43 | Core banking software and SaaS | Banks in many countries wanting packaged software or SaaS |
| 7. Pismo | 42 | Cloud-native banking and card processing platform | Banks and large firms combining cards, lending and accounts |
| 8. Mambu | 42 | SaaS core banking platform | Lenders and deposit-takers wanting audited SaaS |
| 9. Tuum | 40 | Modular core banking platform | Banks wanting cloud or on-premise deployment with a stated launch time |
| 10. Finxact | 38 | Cloud-native core banking platform | US banks wanting an API-first core with a sandbox |
| 11. Zeta | 36 | Card, loan and deposit processing platform | Banks launching card programmes |
| 12. Episode Six | 21 | Ledger and card processing platform | Issuers wanting one ledger for cards, credit and deposits |
Each criterion is scored 0 to 5 against the best published offer in this edition. 0 means not offered or not published.
| Provider | Product coverage | Published pricing | Deployment choice | Integration | Security and regulated clients | Proven scale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thought Machine | 5 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| SDK.finance | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Formance | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 10x Banking | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| Pismo | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Modern Treasury | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Mambu | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Temenos | 3 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Tuum | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Zeta | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Finxact | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Episode Six | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
6 criteria, scored only from what each provider publishes.
Whether one platform publishes all five product areas: current and savings accounts (deposits), lending, cards, payments, and accounts held in more than one currency (multi-currency).
Monthly, per-account or per-transaction prices on a pricing page. "From", "starting at" and "contact us" prices do not count.
Whether the provider runs the system for the client as a hosted service (software as a service, or SaaS), lets the client choose between named public clouds such as AWS, Azure or Google Cloud, and allows it to run on the client's own servers (on-premise or self-hosted).
A public API reference (the technical documentation developers use to connect systems), a sandbox (a test environment with no real money) or free self-serve access, and a stated time to launch.
Security certifications such as ISO 27001 (an international standard for managing information security) and SOC 2 Type II (an independent audit of security controls over a period of time), and regulated banks named as clients.
Published figures for throughput (transactions per second), uptime, accounts or cards run on the platform, or the number of clients.
| Criterion | Banks and building societies | E-money and payment firms | Fintechs building their own products |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product coverage | 25 | 20 | 15 |
| Published pricing | 5 | 20 | 25 |
| Deployment choice | 20 | 10 | 15 |
| Integration | 15 | 20 | 25 |
| Security and regulated clients | 20 | 20 | 10 |
| Proven scale | 15 | 10 | 10 |
| Criterion | 5 | 3 | 0 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product coverage | Deposits, lending, cards, payments and multi-currency all published | Three of the five published | Not published |
| Published pricing | Monthly, per-account or per-transaction prices on a pricing page | A free tier, or one price published for part of the product | Not published, or "from" prices only |
| Deployment choice | Vendor-run SaaS, a choice of named public clouds, and on-premise or self-hosted | One hosting model with a named cloud or region | Not published |
| Integration | Public API reference, sandbox or free self-serve access, and a stated time to launch | API reference with one other item | Not published |
| Security and regulated clients | ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II with named regulated banks as clients | One certification, or named regulated clients only | Not published |
| Proven scale | Two or more published figures for throughput, uptime, accounts or clients | One figure published | Not published |
Score out of 100 is the sum of each criterion score divided by five and multiplied by its weight. The overall ranking is the mean of the segment scores. Ties are broken by product coverage, then security and regulated clients. A provider that does not publish a price is scored as though the price were high, because a business cannot plan on an unpublished price. Prices are scored on the standard published rate, never an introductory, promotional or "from" rate, and a figure counts only when it appears on a pricing, fee or terms page rather than in a marketing line. A provider that serves one country only is scored on access for that country, and the limitation is printed in its profile.
What each provider publishes, criterion by criterion, with the date read and the source.
A cloud-native core banking engine, Vault Core, with a separate payments product, Vault Payments. It publishes the widest deployment choice in this edition, both main security certifications and a list of large regulated bank clients. It does not publish prices or a specific time to launch.
| Product coverage | Vault Core: current and transaction accounts, savings and term deposits, loans and mortgages, credit cards and BNPL (buy now, pay later), wallets and multi-currency. Vault Payments: payment orchestration, account-to-account payments, card issuing and processing. |
| Pricing | Not published on the pages read. |
| Deployment | Runs on Google Cloud, AWS, Azure and IBM Cloud, on-premise, hybrid through Red Hat OpenShift, and as a managed SaaS on AWS. |
| Integration | Public shared sandbox through the Vault Portal for partners; self-service deployment or client services; "Launch in weeks, not years" with no specific time stated. |
| Security and clients | States it is "ISO 27001 certified" and holds "SOC 2 Type 2 accreditation". Logos include Lloyds, Standard Chartered, SEB, Intesa Sanpaolo, Bancolombia, Arvest, Atom and Lunar. |
| Scale | "We support 20 of the world's premier financial institutions". |
| Date read | Read 26 October 2026 |
Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: thoughtmachine.net, www.thoughtmachine.net, www.thoughtmachine.net, www.thoughtmachine.net.
A transaction and ledger platform for wallets, accounts, card issuing and money transfer, sold as SaaS or as a source code licence. It is the only provider in this edition to publish a monthly and per-transaction price. It does not publish certifications or scale figures for the platform itself.
| Product coverage | Solutions for digital wallets, core banking, money transfer and remittance, card issuing and merchant payment processing; "Individual & business accounts". |
| Pricing | SaaS: "First 3 months: flat fee €10,000", then "Monthly payment = €5,500 + €0.05 per transaction". Source code licence: annual or lifetime, price on request. |
| Deployment | SaaS, or source code licence "Hosted on your servers (on-premises, dedicated datacenter)". |
| Integration | API reference, documentation and release notes; "Back-office Real-time Sandbox" demo. |
| Security and clients | "TechFin UAB ... is not a bank, financial or payment institution." Case studies name Geidea, MPAY, TheOneGate, Paywell and Nebeus. No certifications found on the pages read. |
| Date read | Read 26 October 2026 |
Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: sdk.finance, sdk.finance.
An open-source, double-entry ledger with wallets, payment flows and reconciliation modules in its enterprise tier. It publishes ISO 27001:2022 and SOC 2 Type II, a free open-source version, and hosting in a dedicated cloud account or on the client's own servers. Enterprise prices are quoted only.
| Product coverage | "Double-entry, multi-currency" core ledger; Wallets module with "multi-currency balances, holds, expiring balances"; Flows module for multi-step transactions; pre-built connectors for Stripe, Adyen, Wise, Fireblocks and Kraken. |
| Pricing | Open Source: full ledger "under MIT License" with no fee. Enterprise: "Annual subscription, custom quote based on scale". |
| Deployment | Cloud: "Each cloud customer runs in a dedicated private region in a separate AWS account"; also "Private Cloud or Assisted Self-Hosted deployment". |
| Integration | CLI and SDKs; full source code access; documentation published; self-serve sign-up for the open-source version. |
| Security and clients | ISO 27001:2022; "SOC 2 Type II audit passed with zero exceptions across all 33 criteria". |
| Date read | Read 26 October 2026 |
Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: www.formance.com, www.formance.com, www.formance.com.
A cloud-native core banking platform run as SaaS, built on its Fabric ledger. It publishes the strongest scale figures in this edition and names large bank clients. It does not publish prices, named clouds or written certification statements.
| Product coverage | Banking products across retail, mutual and corporate banking, including lending; Fabric core ledger; ProductKit SDK and no-code product configuration. |
| Pricing | Not published on the pages read. |
| Deployment | Cloud-native SaaS; no cloud providers named on the pages read. |
| Integration | ProductKit SDK; states an Australian client built a full product suite "in two weeks". |
| Security and clients | AICPA SOC and BSI ISO 27001 logos shown, with no written statement. Named clients: Chase UK, Westpac, Old Mutual, West Brom Building Society, The Co-operative Bank. |
| Scale | "It processes over 10,000 transactions per second, runs at 99.99% uptime"; more than 100 million accounts stated. |
| Date read | Read 26 October 2026 |
Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: www.10xbanking.com, www.10xbanking.com.
A cloud-native platform for card issuing, lending, corporate accounts, wallets and merchant processing. It names large regulated clients and states SOC 2 compliance. Prices, named clouds and launch times are not published.
| Product coverage | Credit, debit and prepaid cards for Visa, Mastercard and private labels; digital lending; corporate demand deposit accounts "in a multi-country, multi-region, and multi-branch structure"; digital wallets; merchant processing. |
| Pricing | Not published on the pages read. |
| Deployment | "A truly cloud-native API platform"; no cloud provider named on the pages read. |
| Integration | API reference and documentation linked from the homepage. |
| Security and clients | "Pismo achieves SOC 2 compliance". Client quotes from Citi TTS, Itaú and BTG Pactual. |
| Scale | Client quote from Grow cites Pismo's expertise in "managing 46 million cards". |
| Date read | Read 26 October 2026 |
Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: www.pismo.io.
A ledger joined to US payment rails, stablecoins and partner-bank accounts, with KYC and monitoring included. It publishes SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II and PCI DSS 4.0, and states no minimum spend, but does not publish prices.
| Product coverage | Ledgers as "a single, immutable system of record"; payments across ACH, wires, RTP/FedNow, push-to-card, checks and stablecoins; "Payment accounts backed by regulated partners"; lending listed as a solution. |
| Pricing | "Usage-based pricing"; "No. All pricing is usage-based" in answer to minimum spend; Ledgers priced on "flexible usage tiers". No figures published. |
| Deployment | Run by Modern Treasury in the cloud; no cloud provider named on the pages read. |
| Integration | "One API for payments, accounts, and ledgering"; API reference and docs published; "Start building" sign-up. |
| Security and clients | "SOC 2 Type II and SOC 1 Type II Compliant"; "certified PCI DSS 4.0 compliant". |
| Scale | "Built on the infrastructure and proprietary ledger that has powered $600 billion in payments". |
| Date read | Read 26 October 2026 |
Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: www.moderntreasury.com, www.moderntreasury.com, www.moderntreasury.com.
A SaaS core banking platform for lending and deposits, with payments. It publishes ISO 27001 with a downloadable certificate and both SOC 1 and SOC 2 reports, and states its client base by country. It does not publish prices, cards or named regulated clients on the pages read.
| Product coverage | Lending, Deposits and Payments listed as products. |
| Pricing | Not published on the pages read. |
| Deployment | "Customer data is processed in AWS' state-of-the-art data centres"; regions not named. |
| Integration | API reference and user guide published; no sandbox or launch time on the pages read. |
| Security and clients | "ISO 27001 certified" with certificate download; "SOC 1 (Type 1 & 2) and SOC 2 (Type 1 & 2)" reports. |
| Scale | "Trusted by hundreds of leading financial innovators across 65+ countries". |
| Date read | Read 26 October 2026 |
Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: mambu.com, mambu.com.
Packaged core banking software, Temenos Core, also sold as Temenos SaaS on Azure and AWS. It covers retail, business and corporate banking with treasury, compliance and Islamic banking modules, and states support for banks in more than 150 countries. Prices, certifications and a specific launch time are not published on the pages read.
| Product coverage | Retail, business and corporate banking; "trade and cash management services"; real-time treasury; regulatory compliance; Shari'ah-compliant banking. |
| Pricing | Not published on the pages read. |
| Deployment | Packaged software that is "cloud agnostic, cloud-native"; Temenos SaaS "supported by our cloud partners, including Azure and AWS". |
| Integration | Proof-of-concept environment offered on request; "realizing value in months rather than years". |
| Security and clients | Certifications not published on the pages read. Named client: Regions, described as "one of the largest regional banks in the U.S." |
| Scale | "We support banks in 150+ countries". |
| Date read | Read 26 October 2026 |
Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: www.temenos.com.
A modular core banking platform covering accounts, payments, lending and cards, with an Islamic banking suite. It publishes the widest set of hosting options after Thought Machine and an average time to go live. Prices and certifications are not published on the pages read.
| Product coverage | Core banking, payments, lending, cards, accounts, Islamic Banking Suite, Tuum Orchestration Platform and nostro account management. |
| Pricing | Not published on the pages read. |
| Deployment | Public cloud such as AWS, private cloud, on-premises and hybrid. |
| Integration | States "less than 7 months to go live" on average, with new country instances in days. |
| Security and clients | ISO 27001 and SOC 2 not mentioned on the FAQ page. Named clients: LHV Bank, Januar, OP Financial Group. |
| Scale | Not published on the pages read. |
| Date read | Read 26 October 2026 |
Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: tuum.com.
A processing platform for cards, loans and deposits, best known for credit card programmes. It names HDFC Bank as a client with a customer figure and states a card programme launched in under eight months. Prices, deployment and certifications are not published on the pages read.
| Product coverage | "Next-gen processing omnistack for cards, loans and" deposits; credit, charge, BNPL, fleet and family cards. |
| Pricing | Not published on the pages read. |
| Deployment | Not published on the pages read. |
| Integration | "Realtime APIs & Events"; Sparrow Card "launched a credit card program end-to-end in < 8 months". |
| Security and clients | Certifications not published on the pages read. Named client: HDFC Bank (PayZapp and Pixel). |
| Scale | "HDFC Bank blitz-scaled to 12 million customers on highly-rated Zeta-powered solution". |
| Date read | Read 26 October 2026 |
Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: www.zeta.tech.
A cloud-native, API-first core for banks, fintechs and embedded finance. It publishes an API suite, a sandbox on sign-up and named US bank clients. Prices, certifications, named clouds and scale figures are not published on the pages read.
| Product coverage | "The platform for banking, fintech and embedded finance"; payments functionality; product design and configuration. |
| Pricing | Not published on the pages read. |
| Deployment | "Cloud-native, event-driven"; no cloud provider named. |
| Integration | "Sign-up, request a sandbox"; API references, guides and tutorials published. |
| Security and clients | Certifications not published on the pages read. Named clients: First Horizon and Live Oak Bank. |
| Date read | Read 26 October 2026 |
Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: www.finxact.com.
A combined ledger and payment processing platform, Tritium, covering deposits, credit, loans and all main card types, run on its own cloud. It publishes the product scope in detail but not prices, certifications, clients, integration details or scale figures.
| Product coverage | Parallel Ledger, token control ledger, virtual accounts, revolving credit, instalments, loans, interest-bearing and term deposits, multi-currency; prepaid, debit, credit, commercial and virtual cards. |
| Pricing | Not published on the pages read. |
| Deployment | Runs on "E6 Cloud"; on-premise not mentioned. |
| Integration | Not published on the pages read. |
| Security and clients | No certifications or clients named on the page read. |
| Date read | Read 26 October 2026 |
Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: episodesix.com.
The index is paid for by nobody.
No provider pays to be assessed, listed or ranked, and there are no sponsored places. Providers do not apply: BCC selects the providers a business is likely to consider and scores them from their own pages. Any provider may ask to be assessed; the request changes nothing about the score.
Every figure is read from the provider's own pricing, product, legal or help page on the date shown. Providers may send corrections to [email protected]; a correction changes the page only where the provider's own page supports it. Every provider is re-read monthly and a new edition is published each October.
Payment processors, card issuing processors and banking-as-a-service providers that rent out a licensed bank's accounts are ranked in their own indices. Core systems sold only to credit unions or only inside one country, and general accounting ledgers, are left out. Infosys Finacle is not assessed in this edition because its website could not be read on the date of reading.
Ranked providers may show the index badge on their own site.
The badge is free. The one condition is that it links to this page, so that a reader can check the score and the method behind it. It is withdrawn if the link is removed or the provider leaves the index.
Embed: <a href="https://www.buckinghamcapitalconsulting.com/core-banking-index"><img src="https://www.buckinghamcapitalconsulting.com/assets/bcc-core-banking-index-2026.svg" alt="Ranked in the Buckingham Capital Consulting Core Banking and Ledgers Index 2026" width="300"></a>
Nobody. No provider pays to be assessed, listed or ranked.
A core banking system runs a firm's accounts, loans, interest and fees. A ledger is the record of every balance and movement of money underneath it. Some providers sell only the ledger, which a firm then connects to its own products.
Because each product the core cannot run needs another system, another contract and another reconciliation between systems that a regulator or auditor will ask about.
Most core banking providers quote each deal privately. A firm cannot plan on an unpublished price, so the method scores it low until the price is published.
Regulators ask how a firm keeps accurate records of customer balances and how it would recover from an outage. The firm stays responsible for that, whichever provider it uses.
No. The index compares published facts and is not a recommendation to use a particular provider.
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