Arvest Bank claims groundbreaking lending capability using Thought Machine core technology

Fayetteville-chartered Arvest Bank has launched its first product using Thought Machine’s cloud-native core banking technology.

According to a news release Thursday (Feb. 23), it took less than nine months for the $26 billion-asset lender to build and deploy a new equipment finance lending product launched in October.

According to Arvest, it is the first US bank to offer lending capabilities through Thought Machine’s Vault core banking platform.

Arvest and Thought Machine, a London-based fintech, announced their partnership in September 2021.

“As we think about the future of banking, we identified equipment financing as an area of opportunity to address pain points with obtaining important, business-sustaining equipment for commercial customers of all sizes,” Laura Merling, chief transformation and operations officer at Arvest, said in a statement. “Through Thought Machine’s modern, cloud-native platform, Arvest is able to differentiate its entire banking experience and release financial products faster. This is just the first of many exciting services to come as we continue to build a best-in-breed banking service that supports the growing needs of our business customers.”

Arvest said the platform represents a significant step in the company’s multi-year digital transformation to replace legacy infrastructure. The bank announced a partnership last year with Google’s cloud computing division to overhaul its IT architecture and systems.

Paul Taylor, Thought Machine’s founder and CEO, said the company’s core banking platform is designed “to give banks the power to build, launch, and manage any financial product through its Universal Product Engine — providing highly personalized, targeted products to specific customer segments.” He expects Arvest to add more products using the cloud-native core technology.

Thought Machine has more than 500 employees in London, New York, Singapore, Sydney, and Melbourne and has raised more than $500 million in funding.

Merling, a former Google executive working for Arvest since October 2021, said financial services disruption is only beginning.

“From reshaping credit risk modeling to rethinking data-driven relationship management, Arvest’s new cloud-based platform will enable us to build business agility, drive sustainability and advance our digital banking services to better support our customers now and in the future,” she said.