Banking platform migration case study
$9.6B moved. 500,000+ accounts. Zero major incidents.
A leading Australian bank set out to strengthen its funding base by moving clients from a cash management trust to a modern cash account held on its own balance sheet. Transformativ created the new cash account, then led the migration: $9.6B in client funds and more than 500,000 accounts migrated, 45 downstream systems updated or retired, and every account reconciled to the cent, with zero major incidents. Liquidity rose 35 percent.
in client funds migrated onto the balance sheet
accounts migrated, with cent-accurate reconciliation
downstream systems updated or retired
liquidity uplift
in profit for the bank's cash products in the next financial year, to which the program contributed
major incidents
One of Australia's largest retail account migrations at the time.
A cash management migration to strengthen a bank's funding base
The bank's clients held their cash in a cash management trust that sat off the bank's balance sheet. Moving that money into a modern cash account on the balance sheet would strengthen the bank's funding base and give clients and advisers a better experience. Transformativ created that account, then had to migrate more than 500,000 accounts and $9.6B in funds onto it, with their balances, histories, mandates and direct debits, to a hard deadline and without error. The program was a priority for the bank's most senior executive group.
Migrating $9.6B with zero tolerance for error
The migration had to move every dollar and every account accurately, to a hard deadline, while keeping clients and advisers informed and rationalising the technology around it.
- Scale and risk: $9.6B across more than 500,000 accounts, where a single reconciliation error would be visible to clients.
- Complex architecture: 45 downstream systems, from the general ledger to reporting and online access, to update or retire.
- Scrutiny: a high-stakes change to how client money was held, with regulatory and audit expectations to match.
- Many stakeholders: coordination across the bank's wealth businesses, external financial advisers and their clients.
What Transformativ did
Created the new cash account
Transformativ created the bank's new cash account, the on-balance-sheet product clients would move into.
Designed the migration blueprint
An extract, transform and load design for balances, histories, mandates and direct debits; a phased approach, starting with a pilot and moving to larger waves; and automated reconciliation and exception handling, so every account was proven before the next wave.
Consolidated the systems around it
45 downstream systems, including the general ledger, reporting and online access, were updated or retired, simplifying the cost of running the cash business.
Ran a cross-functional taskforce
More than 300 people mobilised across data, systems integration, operations, finance and risk, with weekend war rooms through the critical migration windows and gated go or no-go decisions with executive sign-off.
Kept clients and advisers informed
Proactive notifications, adviser briefings so advisers could explain the change to their clients, and dedicated hotlines for questions after cutover.
$9.6B migrated, with zero major incidents
The bank moved $9.6B onto its balance sheet, lifting liquidity by 35 percent and reaching the highest liquidity position in Australia at the time. It was one of Australia's largest retail account migrations at the time, delivered with zero major incidents and cent-accurate reconciliation.
- Funding: $9.6B brought onto the balance sheet; liquidity up 35 percent; the highest liquidity position in Australia at the time.
- Profit: the program contributed to $88M in profit for the bank's cash products in the next financial year.
- Cost: an operating expense saving of around 20 percent in cash operations.
- Accuracy: zero major incidents and cent-accurate reconciliation across more than 500,000 accounts.
- Clients and advisers: a better experience, with online access to the new account.
Lessons for large bank account migrations
Four lessons from this migration apply to any bank moving large numbers of accounts or client funds.
- 01
Phase the migration.
A pilot proved the approach and protected the wider program.
- 02
Simplify as you migrate.
Updating or retiring the surrounding systems during the move reduced the long-term cost to run.
- 03
Earn trust through communication.
Advisers and clients stayed with the change when they understood it and had somewhere to take their questions.
- 04
Zero-incident execution is achievable.
Automated reconciliation, gated go or no-go decisions and real-time oversight made it possible.
Common questions about bank account migrations
Account migration is moving customer accounts, balances and their history from one product or platform to another, for example from an old core system to a new one, or from an off-balance-sheet product to an on-balance-sheet account. Every account and every cent has to be reconciled before and after the move.
Build a detailed extract, transform and load blueprint; migrate in phases, starting with a pilot; reconcile every account automatically at every stage; run cutover weekends from a war room with gated go or no-go decisions; and prepare customers and advisers well before their accounts move.
Cent-accurate reconciliation, balances together with histories, mandates and direct debits, regulatory and audit expectations, how advisers and clients will be told and supported, the systems that must be updated or retired around the new account, and a phased plan that lets a pilot prove the approach first.
The number of accounts and systems involved, the quality of the data being moved, the level of regulatory scrutiny, how many connected systems must change, and how many migration waves and rehearsals are needed to move safely. Simplifying systems during the migration can offset part of the cost; in this program, cash operations costs fell by around 20 percent.
Know where your program stands before the next dollar goes in.
Five minutes. A scored baseline against twenty years of programs.
Figures are stated as at the time of delivery.