Emerging Trends in Banking Industry Requests for Proposals: Innovation and Strategic Shifts in Fintech Collaboration

Kael TheoWritten by
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Introduction

The core banking RFP landscape is undergoing strategic shifts as financial institutions prioritize modernization, scalability, and interoperability. With 72% of banks planning core system upgrades by 2025 (Celent), RFPs now emphasize cloud-native architectures, API-first designs, and regulatory compliance. This evolution reflects the convergence of legacy replacement pressures and fintech collaboration opportunities.

Detailed Analysis: Core Banking RFP Trends

1. Technical Requirements Dominating RFPs

Recent RFPs from institutions like Deutsche Bank (2023 cloud-core RFP) and Chase’s Horizon 2025 program highlight three recurring themes:

  • Modularity: Demand for component-based systems (e.g., separate ledger, product factories)

  • APIs: Minimum 50% reusable APIs for third-party integrations (per ECB’s T2/T3 guidelines)

  • RegTech readiness: Built-in features for PSd2, AML/KYC workflows

Example from Bank of Ireland’s 2024 RFP:

“Vendors must demonstrate 90% straight-through processing (STP) capability for retail lending products and provide sandbox testing for ISO 20022 migration.”

2. Evaluation Criteria Shifts

Procurement teams increasingly use weighted scoring models targeting:

  • Implementation risk (30% weight): Vendor’s local client references

  • Total cost of ownership (25%): Includes 5-year cloud/on-prem scenarios

  • Innovation roadmap alignment (20%): AI/ML feature pipelines

The National Bank of Canada’s 2023 scoring template prioritizes vendor viability:

“20% deduction for vendors with <3 live production deployments in Tier 2 banks.”

Best Practices for Vendors and Banks

For Fintechs/Banking Vendors:

Pre-RFP Preparation:

  • Maintain a repository of 50+ standardized RFP responses (e.g., Fiserv’s “RFP Studio”)

  • Highlight client-specific differentiators (e.g., “Our core supports 12M tx/day at 99.99% SLA for UAE Central Bank”)

Response Architecture:

  • Use visuals like capability heatmaps against NFRs (non-functional requirements)

  • Include implementation timelines with regulatory milestones (e.g., FedNow compliance)

For Banking Procurement Teams:

Due Diligence Enhancements:

  • Require SOC 2 Type II + ISO 27001 certification as gatekeeper criteria

  • Conduct vendor stress tests (e.g., Monte Carlo simulations for disaster recovery)

Scoring Modernization:

  • Adopt balanced scorecards with innovation quotas (e.g., 15% weight for blockchain settlement features)

  • Benchmark against public RFP templates like Malaysia’s Bank Negara modular core guidelines

Future Trends and Takeaways

  1. Vertical-Specific Cores: Expect RFPs for niche banking segments (e.g., Islamic finance cores with Sharia-compliance audits)

  2. Proactive Compliance: 2025 RFPs will likely mandate real-time GL reconciliation for Basel IV

  3. Fintech Hybrid Models: Collaborative RFPs where core vendors must demonstrate pre-integrated fintech marketplaces (see BBVA Open Platform case study)

Actionable Resources:

FintechRFPs.com offers a curated library of professionally written RFP and RFI templates tailored for the fintech, banking, and payments industries. Whether you’re preparing responses for compliance, API integrations, cybersecurity, or core banking solutions, our templates help you save time, reduce errors, and improve your win rate with procurement teams and institutional buyers.

Respond Smarter and Faster with FintechRFPs.com Templates

Take the next step: explore our growing collection of fintech-specific RFP templates and boost your bid quality—visit FintechRFPs.com today.