The core contractsets thecost base.
Community and regional banks and credit unions spend heavily on a few long contracts: core processing, digital banking and card processing, plus marketing for deposits and loans. We review them years before they renew, and use the vendor management you already do for compliance to manage cost too.
Where it goes wrong.
Core and digital banking contracts run for years, with termination and conversion costs that make switching expensive. The room to negotiate exists well before expiry, and there is almost none at the end.
Third-party risk reviews already collect most of what a cost review needs. Few institutions use them that way.
Core processor contract
Term, per-account pricing, add-on modules and termination terms.
Digital banking platforms
Modules bought one at a time on separate schedules.
Card and payment processing
Processor pricing and network fees.
Deposit and loan acquisition
Agencies and media for acquisition campaigns, rarely measured to booked accounts.
Third-party risk work
Reviews done for compliance that could also drive cost.
Branch connectivity
Telecom and network contracts per branch.
How we help
The same approach as every engagement: a free call, a Second Opinion or a Diagnostic to size it, then the work run to the P&L.
Software & IT cost Marketing & media Renewal Desk Second Opinion
Core processor contracts: start the renewal 36 months out
Fiserv, FIS and Jack Henry serve most US banks on long contracts. Your negotiating window is 24 to 36 months before expiry, not the final year.
Bank vendor spend beyond the core: put TPRM to work on cost
Digital banking, card processing, agencies and deposit media renew by default. The vendor file you keep for examiners is also your best cost tool.
The vendor risk review nobody prices as a cost
In regulated financial services a small marketing or SaaS tool can take months to clear third-party risk review. Almost nobody puts a number on that delay.
Straight answers.
When should a bank start on its core contract?
Two to three years before it expires. Conversion takes time, and the incumbent knows when you have run out of it.
Does this conflict with our third-party risk program?
No. It builds on it. The same contract reviews regulators expect can show where you are overpaying.
Tell us about the business.
Fifteen minutes. We will tell you where we would look first in a business like yours.