Agenda for EDFC March 2026 Announced

Posted by: digitalfinanceconference November 10, 2025 No Comments

From Legacy to Leading Edge: Reinventing Banking Technology.

The European Digital Finance Conference (EDFC) returns in March 2026 with a bold new theme: From Legacy to Leading Edge: Reinventing Banking Technology. This edition focuses on one of the most pressing challenges in financial services today; modernizing decades-old core systems to enable real innovation, agility, and AI adoption.

Across three in-depth sessions, industry leaders, transformation experts, and senior architects from Europe’s leading banks will explore how to evolve the mainframe backbone, decouple monolithic cores, and unlock the hidden value in legacy data and integration layers. Expect real-world case studies, candid discussions, and practical insights into the technology strategies shaping the next decade of banking.

Provisional Agenda:

Session 1. Modernizing the Mainframe (the Core Backbone)

Focus: COBOL, z/OS, batch processes, and how to integrate or migrate them.

Most European banks still run mission-critical workloads on IBM Z or Unisys mainframes — from core banking to payments.

Themes:

API-enabling COBOL and PL/I systems
Hybrid strategies (partial migration to cloud vs replatforming)
Real-life modernization case studies

Session 2. From Monolith to Microservices: Core Banking Transformation (the Application Layer)

Focus: Old core banking platforms (T24, Midas, Profile, Equation, Flexcube) and their modernization paths.

Many institutions have upgraded their digital front ends but still run on 20–30-year-old monolithic cores. This session bridges strategy, architecture, and culture.

Themes:

Decoupling legacy cores without full replacement
The rise of composable banking and core-as-a-service
Case studies: Core-banking migration and transformation adoption stories
Cloud migration pitfalls and hybrid-core models

Session 3. Data, Middleware & Integration: Unlocking the Legacy Value (the Hidden Layer)

Focus: Middleware, ETL pipelines, ESBs, and old data warehouses.

Legacy integration layers are often the true blockers to transformation. Data trapped in silos prevents AI, real-time analytics, and agile delivery.

Themes:

Moving from nightly ETL to real-time streaming
Event-driven architectures and data mesh approaches
Data modernization as the foundation for AI-readiness
Success stories: banks building unified data layers

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