Global Fintech Interview with Barb Morgan, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Temenos

Barb Morgan, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Temenos chats about the latest fintech trends defining the modern banking ecosystem in this Global Fintech Series interview:

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Tell us about your time in fintech and more about the latest product enhancements at Temenos.

I’ve spent my career helping financial institutions in the U.S. and globally improve how they operate, how they serve customers, and how they adapt to constant change. That focus on meaningful transformation – combined with my experience leading global product, technology, and risk‑focused organizations across banking and financial services – is ultimately what drew me to Temenos.

For over 30 years, Temenos has invested exclusively in banking, building a unified banking platform operated on a single code base that runs full front to back-office banking operations. It gives our clients real freedom to define their future – whether that’s the flexibility to deploy on-premises, cloud, or SaaS – and to modernize at their own pace, extending capabilities as priorities shift and new opportunities emerge. We are also investing heavily adding intelligence across the platform, re-defining how work is done and making mission-critical processes faster and more scalable.

I’m particularly excited about our recent product launches including the Temenos Product Manager Copilot, a GenAI-powered assistant that helps banks design, configure, and launch new retail products much faster and with far less complexity. Also, the Temenos FCM AI Agent, already live with a tier 1 bank, improving speed and accuracy in sanctions screening. What matters most is that these solutions were created with our customers, not just for them, as part of our Design Partner Program. Co-innovation is central to how we develop products going forward and our new Innovation Hub in Orlando will play a big role in that for our U.S. clients.

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How is the modern banking technology ecosystem transforming traditional systems that can’t keep up with a digital-first age?

Customers now expect banking to be as intuitive and user centric as their favorite apps. To keep up, and compete with more nimble challengers, banks must be able to respond quickly to change and deliver personalized services across multiple channels.

The challenge is that many banks are held back by their legacy core systems. These decades old systems drain resources, slow innovation, and increase operational risk. Banks know that moving to modern, cloud-native platforms can help them innovate faster, scale efficiently and focus on customer value rather than maintenance.

The good news is they can now do this without the cost and risk of a disruptive, full-scale core replacement. Modular by design, Temenos solutions allow banks to modernize progressively on a single platform. They can expand their lending, deposits, payments, wealth, or other capabilities piece by piece as priorities and market demands evolve.

What innovative banking technologies from the global fintech market have most captured your interest?

For me, it has to be AI, particularly agentic AI, which is fast emerging as a gamechanger for operational efficiency. These systems don’t just process information, they learn, adapt, and operate autonomously across complex environments.

While there’s a lot of hype, what interests me is real results – the tangible use cases where banks are getting measurable value from implementing this technology in their operations. Take the Temenos FCM AI Agent, already deployed at a tier-1 bank and proven to reduce false positive rates in sanctions screening from around 6% to under 2%. This is not AI hype, this is making AI work, delivering measurable value.

I’m equally excited about innovation at the front end. The technology that brings ecosystems together to transform customer experience. The future of digital banking is about creating journeys that feel effortless, where everything just works. Each interaction should build on the last, carrying context across channels and moments so customers never have to repeat themselves, slow down, or lose confidence. These are the experiences that will help banks strengthen relationships and long-term value.

What will banks prioritize through 2026 as they implement new technologies for modernization and to meet customer expectations?

Looking ahead, banks are focusing on technologies that help them operate with more agility, more efficiency, and greater clarity. Natural language interfaces will play a big role in this. Generative AI is simplifying how employees and customers interact with banking systems. Instead of navigating complex interfaces, people will increasingly be able to request insights, actions, or reports conversationally. This will reduce training time dramatically and support faster, more consistent decision making across the bank.

At the same time, agentic AI is emerging as a game changer for operational efficiency. Banks are looking for ways to automate the high-volume, time-sensitive work that traditionally required manual oversight such as system monitoring, upgrades, fraud detection, and exception handling. Agentic AI can take on these tasks autonomously and continuously.

Finally, progressive, modular modernization will continue to guide transformation efforts. Banks no longer want large, disruptive programs. They want to modernize in controlled steps, adding or upgrading capabilities, whether in lending, onboarding, or payments, without destabilizing their core operations. Modern, cloud-native platforms like Temenos give them the flexibility to evolve at their own pace while maintaining stability and regulatory confidence.

A few thoughts on the future of AI and fintech?

AI will define the next decade of financial services. We’ll see more hyperpersonalized experiences, faster development cycles supported by AI driven engineering, and far more intelligence built into day-to-day banking operations.

But as AI becomes more powerful, trust and governance become even more critical. Banks are accustomed to operating within strict regulatory and risk frameworks, and that positions them well for this next era.

The winners will be those that adopt AI responsibly, apply it where it delivers measurable value, and build technology foundations designed to evolve. Those institutions will innovate faster, operate more efficiently, and deliver the kinds of customer experiences that truly differentiate.

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