As one of the banks leading Vietnam’s digital transformation, MB Bank has successfully implemented one of the most modern core banking systems in the country. The bank has been a user of the Temenos Transact (T24) core banking solution since 2005 and has continuously upgraded it over the years to scale up its business operations.

According to Vinh Quang Nguyen, head of the core department, there are three primary reasons why MB Bank has been using T24 for such a long time. Firstly, T24 offers flexibility in product development, allowing the bank to tailor its offerings to meet customer needs. Secondly, the time required for product development on the T24 system is relatively fast, enabling the bank to respond quickly to market demands. Thirdly, T24 is highly regarded for its stability and flexibility, and adopted by more than 15 banks in the Vietnamese market.

In its recent upgrade, MB Bank’s primary goal was to switch to a new framework called Tab J, which runs on the Java platform. This move aligns with recent digital trends, as Java offers advantages in terms of running on various server systems and virtual machines, facilitating scalability and compatibility with different infrastructure platforms and clouds. The bank’s main expectation from the upgrade was faster product development and better performance compared to the old platform.

However, the upgrade process came with its fair share of challenges. The transition from the old C framework to the Java framework involved changes in various aspects, including user interfaces, databases, local code conversion, architecture, and infrastructure.

Mitigating high transaction volumes

One significant hurdle faced during the go-live phase was the high transaction volume. Prior to the upgrade, MB Bank handled two to three million transactions per day, but after going live, the volume spiked to 10 million transactions per day. This substantial increase in volume initially posed a challenge for Temenos, as the high volume could not be handled effectively due to its sheer magnitude.

Nguyen highlighted that the key risk faced during the upgrade was related to handling high-volume transactions. Temenos sent experts to address this issue, and the system became stable during the coding process with the support of the Temenos team.

Nguyen further elaborated on the specific challenges faced during the upgrade process. Various areas required changes, such as the Java version, operating system, shared area, and infrastructure platforms like Active MQ and GBot. Additionally, the database had to be upgraded from Oracle 11G to 19C, and all GDB (Gnu DeBugger) formats had to be converted.

Along with the high volume of transactions, another challenge was the requirement to maintain service continuity for over 90% of its customers during the upgrade and go-live phases. This made the upgrade process even more difficult for the team.

After upgrading to Tab J, scaling the system became easier. Before the upgrade to Tab J, MB Bank had already experienced a significant jump in customer activity and transactions, increasing from three million to 10 million transactions per day. In the past two years, the bank has reached 14 million to 15 million transactions per day.

With the new system, MB Bank can separate essential services directly into the core, allowing for better impact management. If one service is affected, it does not impact other services, improving overall performance. This separation of services and scaling to multiple service products is a significant advantage of the upgraded system, enabling the bank to continue its digital transformation journey more effectively.