What Your Core System Parameters Are Telling You (And Why You Should Listen)

Most community banks recognize the importance of their core system. It does, after all, control nearly every operational process of the bank. However, far fewer realize that the solutions to some of their biggest operational challenges may be hiding in plain sight. Core system parameters are doing the quiet, daily work of determining how accounts are opened, transactions are processed, disclosures are generated and employees are completing routine tasks, yet many of those settings haven’t been reviewed in years.

As banks evolve and grow over time, employee turnover can leave no one in place who fully understands why certain settings exist or whether they should exist at all. The result? Teams continue doing work manually that could be automated, institutions purchase third-party solutions for capabilities they already own and outdated configurations furtively create inefficiencies that slow down operations and frustrate employees.

The 2025 Bank Director/Jack Henry Technology Survey states that nearly half of respondents cited improving operational efficiency as the primary objective of their technology strategy.

Your Core System Is Talking. Are You Listening?

The core truly touches nearly every operational process within the bank, and the core’s parameters determine how those processes function. Many settings remain untouched for years not necessarily because they’re working well, but because no one thinks of revisiting them. 

“As banks grow, merge, introduce new products or adapt to regulatory changes, parameter reviews become increasingly important. As your bank changes, your parameters should change with it,” said PRI Consultant Tiffany Jane. 

Ironically, the core system itself often provides clues that something needs attention. Jane says that manual workarounds, recurring exception reports and customer requests for services competitors already offer are all signals that it’s time to take a closer look. Jane emphasizes that a periodic review of your core system parameters isn’t simply an IT exercise. It’s a real opportunity to improve efficiency and maximize the return on one of your bank’s largest technology investments.

Core parameters can reveal some interesting insights that may be flying under the radars of your team leaders including: 

• Manual processes that could be automated. Where there are repetitive tasks and inefficient workflows, there are often missed automation opportunities. Find out if by simply updating system parameters, the core can handle reoccurring tasks such as: 

• Manual file maintenance 
• Repetitive data entry 
• Constantly editing default fields 
• Auto-generating customer communications 

“People often continue doing something manually because they’ve always done it that way,” Jane said. “It never occurs to them that a simple parameter change could eliminate the extra work.”

• Institutional knowledge has walked out the door. Retirements, staff turnover, legacy settings and forgotten functionality, combined with an “always done it this way” mentality can often mean that banks are losing out on opportunities to maximize their core and allow it to breathe and grow along with the bank. Periodically “cleaning up” the core parameters will optimize the functionality, often leading to greater satisfaction with the platform. According to the ABA 2025 Core Platform Survey, satisfaction with the core tends to decrease the longer the bank is on it, but the issue probably isn’t the age of the core. It’s whether the bank has continued optimizing it to meet its needs and align with its strategy.

• You’re paying twice for technology. Reviewing core parameters can uncover useful vendor enhancements and features that were never adopted. There may be untapped value in areas where the bank has unnecessarily purchased third-party tools when the native core functionality and solution to their problem already exists. 

“Often the answer isn’t buying another product,” Jane said. “It’s discovering you’re already paying for the capability inside your core.”

An added benefit of utilizing the core before purchasing third-party products is generally better, more seamless integration as well as lower operational complexity. 

Turning Curiosity into Continuous Improvement

There are many reasons why banks may neglect to adjust their core parameters as they grow. Two of the most common could be described as issues around operational and communication silos.

• Core ownership sits solely within IT. According to Jane, IT keeps the system running, but the business units know how it should work. Core ownership should extend into the operational departments, with a “go to” person who understands how the core works and how it aligns with the strategy of the department and institution. She recommends empowering employees to be curious and ask questions about why things work the way they do. Allowing questions and curiosity will pay off in more efficient and consistent processes.
• Enhancement notices and vendor releases aren’t reviewed. Again, these should not belong to IT alone. Communication between IT and the departmental owner is crucial to knowing what the system can do and why you want to implement any enhancements or updates. Core owners should also foster their relationships with vendors. Joining user groups and attending vendor conferences ensure employees are working with the latest knowledge about their core system and what it can and cannot do.

To combat the siloed approach, Jane recommends: 

• Assigning an operational owner for major systems 
• Reviewing enhancements routinely 
• Monitoring exception reports 
• Documenting recurring employee pain points 
• Including department leaders in technology discussions 
• Conducting periodic parameter reviews 

In the final analysis, technology ownership should be viewed as operational—not purely technical, Jane said. Curiosity is the starting point.

“The first step isn’t changing parameters. It’s asking better questions,” Jane said.

Good questions for banks to ask include:

1. When were our parameters last reviewed?
2. What manual work are employees doing every day?
3. Which vendor enhancements are we ignoring?
4. Do our system settings still support our business strategy?

Banks don’t always need new technology. Many already own the functionality they need. The opportunity is to understand, optimize and fully utilize the technology already in place. 

“The cost of not paying attention to your core parameters is a heavier manual workload for our employees, increased operational inefficiency and inconsistent processes,” Jane said. “On the other hand, if you’re making the most of your core system, that means greater scalability for the bank and a better return on investment. That’s a winner for everybody.” 

Our experts

PRI Consultant Tiffany Jane helps financial institutions optimize the performance of their core systems to improve efficiency, strengthen operations and make better use of existing technology investments. Drawing on extensive experience with core system configuration, account processing and operational workflows, she works with banks to identify opportunities that often go unnoticed within the systems they use every day.

Resources

2025 Core Platform Survey – American Bankers Association

2025 Technology Survey – Bank Director/Jack Henry 

Maximizing System Utilization: Implementing Technology Solutions – PRI

7 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Core System – PRI

PRI specializes in identifying profitability improvement areas for financial institutions through revenue growth, cost control, streamlining processes, and effective use of technology. Contact us to learn more about our personalized approach to propel growth and improve profitability.