Operating a software as a service (SaaS) model, Form3 claims it will deliver comprehensive payment and core banking service, accessed through a single API and integration platform, ready to use on a pay-as-you-go basis.

The new vendor says the industry has so far been slow to adapt to changing customer demands and growing cost pressures, increasing competition, the burden of regulation (such as PSD2 and the EU Data Protection Directive) and the need for improved system and data security. Part of the problem is outdated legacy back office systems, and complex operational and manual processes, which are no longer fit for purpose.

Form3 is setting out to change this, providing a way for financial institutions to ensure cost effective access to the latest innovations such as cloud, APIs and distributed ledger and smart contract technologies and removing the need for a complex web of vendor relationships and expensive software licence agreements.

Form3 will initially focus on UK established and challenger banks, deposit-taking foreign bank branches, building societies and payment institutions. It says the core components of its software wuite deliver infrastructure for universal payments (including Faster Payments) and integrated banking, enabled by partnerships with Dovetail and Thought Machine. The core components are complemented by a range of additional cloud-based services such as charging and billing, accounting and sanctions screening.

The company’s management team comprises Michael Mueller, CEO, ex of Deutsche Bank and Barclays, Adam Moulson, chief customer officer, who most recently worked for Swift, Mike Walters, chief product officer (previously at Barclaycard) and Steve Cook, chief technology officer (ex of Gain Capital Payments). The board of directors is led by chairman, Tom Kozlowski, the founder of City Practitioners. The company says it is backed by a group of investors with experience in the banking and fintech industry and has secured a strong funding position.