Provider profile · 2026 edition
Thought Machine review 2026: scores, pricing and alternatives.
A cloud-native core banking engine, Vault Core, with a separate payments product, Vault Payments.
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A cloud-native core banking engine, Vault Core, with a separate payments product, Vault Payments.
Thought Machine scores 3.5 out of 5 (71 out of 100) in the Buckingham Intelligence Core Banking and Ledgers Index 2026 and ranks 1 of 12. It is strongest for large banks replacing a legacy core on the cloud of their choice, with 5 out of 5 for product coverage, deployment choice and security and regulated clients. Not published or not stated on the pages read: pricing and integration.
Scores from the Core Banking and Ledgers Index 2026.
| Segment | Score out of 100 | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| For banks and building societies | 83 | 1 of 12 |
| For E-money and payment firms | 68 | 1 of 12 |
| For fintechs building their own products | 61 | 2 of 12 |
The score out of 5 is the overall score out of 100 divided by 20. Leader goes to the top three overall, Best for to the first in each segment, and Top rated for to a score of 5 out of 5 on a criterion. Awards cannot be bought.
Where it scores best, and where to check closely, as shown in each ranking.
Large banks replacing a legacy core on the cloud of their choice.
What Thought Machine publishes on its own pages, read on 26 October 2026.
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.
| Fact | What the provider publishes |
|---|---|
| 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 | 26 October 2026 |
A fact that is not published is scored as not offered or, for a fee, as if it were high. It is never estimated.
Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: thoughtmachine.net, thoughtmachine.net/press-releases/…, thoughtmachine.net/delivery, thoughtmachine.net/blog/….
Each score with the evidence behind it.
Each criterion is scored 0 to 5 against the best published offer in the Core Banking and Ledgers Index. 0 means not offered or not published. How it is scored
The other providers in the same ranking, ordered by score.
| Provider | Score out of 5 | Rank | Strongest for |
|---|---|---|---|
| SDK.finance | 3.0 | 2 of 12 | E-money firms and fintechs wanting a published price |
| Formance | 3.0 | 3 of 12 | Fintech and crypto firms wanting a ledger they can host themselves |
| 10x Banking | 2.6 | 4 of 12 | Banks that need published throughput and uptime figures |
| Pismo | 2.5 | 5 of 12 | Banks and large firms combining cards, lending and accounts |
| Modern Treasury | 2.5 | 6 of 12 | US fintechs wanting a ledger joined to payment rails |
| Mambu | 2.5 | 7 of 12 | Lenders and deposit-takers wanting audited SaaS |
| Temenos | 2.5 | 8 of 12 | Banks in many countries wanting packaged software or SaaS |
| Tuum | 2.3 | 9 of 12 | Banks wanting cloud or on-premise deployment with a stated launch time |
| Zeta | 2.0 | 10 of 12 | Banks launching card programmes |
| Finxact | 2.0 | 11 of 12 | US banks wanting an API-first core with a sandbox |
| Episode Six | 1.3 | 12 of 12 | Issuers wanting one ledger for cards, credit and deposits |
Side by side on every criterion, fact and award.
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