Georgia-based BankSouth is upgrading to the core banking platform, FIS Horizon, in order to modernize its infrastructure and implement AI services in the future.
According to a press release from FIS, BankSouth will utilize FIS Horizon for both retail and business banking at the bank. FIS Horizon is a core banking system designed for community and regional banks, and was introduced on the market in 1991.
BankSouth Wants to Lay the Groundwork for Modern Digital Services
In recent years, the pressure for community banks to upgrade their legacy infrastructure and adopt more modern banking processes has become greater. Moreover, many banks want to prepare for future data-driven banking services.
As noted in the FIS release, the upgrade will offer several improvements for the bank, such as new capabilities in payments and cards, improved fraud protection through the application of predictive analytics, and standardized data streams, which are essential for any AI initiative.
Additionally, BankSouth will be able to access other fintech products in FIS’s Code Connect API marketplace.
For the bank itself, this core upgrade will represent not only the improvement of its infrastructure, but also the creation of a solid foundation for AI development.
AI Implementation Becomes Critical for Banks
In particular, BankSouth president and CEO Harold Reynolds said that this decision would help the bank in implementing a “real AI strategy.” BankSouth already has demonstrated its interest in AI through using the KAI platform from agentic AI company Kasisto based in New York.
Standardized data feeds provided by FIS Horizon could become particularly important for the bank in implementing AI. For example, clean and standardized data are necessary for AI implementation in fraud protection and detection, improving customer experience through chatbots and virtual assistants, streamlining operations, and other applications.
Core Upgrade Comes Following Acquisition
This upgrade seems to follow BankSouth’s growth strategy as the result of acquiring the State Bank of Cochran, including First Laurens Bank and Community Bank of Johnson County. The deal was completed in October, adding to BankSouth’s assets that had already amounted to $1.6 billion at the beginning of the year.
According to FIS, the core upgrade implementation will be carried out by Sequence Holdings, a holding company based in New York, that has partnered with BankSouth since March of 2020. It has embedded engineers experienced in working at firms like Palantir, Lone Pine, and Silver Lake into BankSouth’s structure.
Implications for Other Community Banks
The case of BankSouth represents an important development for all small and medium-sized banks across the United States.
In upgrading to FIS Horizon, BankSouth aims not only at improving its banking infrastructure, but also at implementing better payment and fraud protection capabilities, accessing fintech solutions, and laying the groundwork for AI applications.
For community banks, it becomes increasingly necessary to migrate to newer core systems.