Legacy software is the silent blocker to growth that too many FinTechs underestimate.

In a sector where customer expectations evolve fast and competition is fierce, clunky back-end systems can stall progress. Whether you’re a decades-old institution or a digital-first provider scaling fast, chances are, legacy tech is lurking in the background — slowing innovation, draining budgets, and putting security at risk.

At Answer Digital, we’ve worked with financial services organisations like Scottish Friendly to overcome these exact challenges. And here’s the key insight: legacy software doesn’t always need to be replaced. Sometimes, it needs to be understood, upgraded, or integrated — with the right strategy and technology partner.

Legacy systems strangle innovation

Legacy systems are often built on outdated frameworks that can’t keep pace with modern cloud platforms, APIs, or agile ways of working. As a result, even the most exciting innovation roadmap ends up on the shelf, blocked by the limitations of what's under the hood.

We’ve seen this first-hand with our work with integrating new areas of business, rather than scrapping everything and starting again, we helped build new functionality into existing systems, improving performance and unlocking capability — all without a disruptive rip-and-replace overhaul.

Smart modernisation, not total replacement, is often the answer. The result? Faster time to market, more flexible product development, and real value for both business and customer.

Legacy software is costly — in every sense

Legacy systems are expensive to maintain. From outdated hardware and software licensing to hard-to-find expertise, the costs pile up fast. A Deloitte study found that up to 75% of IT budgets in financial institutions are still spent maintaining legacy tech — leaving little space for innovation.

At Scottish Friendly, our collaborative test and integration strategy helped avoid these runaway costs. By improving test automation, building out integration pipelines, and ensuring quality assurance was embedded from the start, we brought long-term efficiencies without breaking the bank.

Modernisation doesn’t have to mean starting from scratch. It means making legacy systems work smarter — extending value while reducing overheads.

Legacy systems pose a security risk

Legacy platforms weren’t designed for today’s cyber threats. They’re harder to patch, lack encryption standards, and often sit outside the visibility of modern security operations.

In its 2024 tech priorities report, Central Banking highlighted cybersecurity and legacy adaptation as the two most urgent concerns for financial institutions. And rightly so — because any system managing personal or financial data needs to be both robust and responsive to new risks.

By updating how legacy platforms are integrated and deployed, you can bring them into a secure, governed environment — reducing exposure while improving resilience.

Legacy systems block integration and data insights

Legacy systems are infamous for creating data silos. When platforms can’t talk to each other, it becomes impossible to build a real-time, 360° view of your customers — or make data-driven decisions at pace.

In our work with Sonata, we didn’t just test functionality. We helped ensure the platform could play nicely with other systems — unlocking data and making it usable across channels and teams. That’s what drives better digital experiences, smarter analytics, and more agile decision-making.

Modern integration strategies (think APIs, middleware, and cloud-native services) mean legacy doesn’t have to stay siloed. It just needs translating.

Legacy systems rely heavily on people

Many legacy systems depend on a small number of people who know “how it works” — the old code, the bespoke rules, the undocumented quirks. That creates a key-man dependency, and it’s risky business.

We have worked with many internal teams, offering upskilling across engineering and QA, helping reduce that dependency. Our approach brings knowledge out of people’s heads and into automated pipelines, shared documentation, and scalable processes.

True transformation isn’t just technical — it’s cultural. It’s about giving your teams the confidence and tools to keep delivering, even as systems evolve.

Our view? Legacy doesn’t mean lifeless

Legacy systems are a challenge, yes — but they’re not a dead end. At Answer Digital, we specialise in helping financial services businesses modernise with purpose. That might mean replatforming or upgrading. Or it might mean enhancing what you’ve already got — adding layers of integration, automation, security, and scale.

If you’re wrestling with legacy software and wondering what the smartest move is, start by asking: what does the business need? Then work back from there — with a partner that understands how to unlock value without starting from zero.

Because modernisation isn’t about tech for tech’s sake. It’s about making technology work for your business. Get in touch with us for an analysis of your current systems.