Thought Machine

Today's payment systems are outdated, siloed, and inflexible. They handle each payment type separately, forcing banks to follow their vendor’s roadmap. But what if your system could evolve with tomorrow's demands––without limitations? At Thought Machine, we don’t just build for today; we build for tomorrow. Unlike other systems, Vault Payments manages all payment types, methods and schemes in one highly configurable platform—today and in the future. Don't just take our word for it. A Head of Architecture at a leading bank put it best: "With this level of configurability and power, I'll never have to say 'no' to business demands again." Ready to break free from your current system's limitations? Watch our experts, Piotr and Joshua, outline what an optimal payment system should look like. Full episode here: https://lnkd.in/emhnSiWs

Paul Taylor joined the Culture15 podcast to share his views and career journey—from academia to founding Thought Machine. Paul reflected on his time as a technical lead at Google, his experience building two other tech companies, and his unique perspective on AI as a Cambridge lecturer. Key takeaways on building an exceptional company culture: 👉 Drawing inspiration from Google's excellence, we set high standards in everything we do––even for the simplest tasks. 👉 We prioritise clear, actionable principles over vague values. 👉 We cultivate a culture of debate and a bias for action, driving meritocracy. 👉 A strong culture is not just for leadership; it must be embraced by everyone in the organisation. Listen to the full episode here: https://shorturl.at/9sSlE

At the Islamic Finance News KSA Dialogues, our EMEA Managing Director, Alex Menage, joined Ben Harvey, Group Chief Product and Operations Officer at Vemi Ventures, to discuss Saudi Arabia’s evolving financial ecosystem. They shared research highlighting Saudi Arabia’s rise as a regional fintech leader, driven by Vision 2030 and growing SME demand for personalised, Shariah-compliant digital banking. They stressed the importance of traditional banks adopting cloud-native technology to stay competitive and innovate, while fintechs must address trust challenges due to the lack of physical branches. We thank our client Vemi for the opportunity to speak and proudly support their mission to deliver innovative Shariah-compliant financial solutions in the UK and beyond. Read more about our insights in the article, here: https://lnkd.in/ezrsWCUf

Last week, we hosted a Future of Payments evening in Amsterdam, in collaboration with our strategic partner, Mastercard. The event took place on the eve of MoneyLIVE Payments Europe, in the iconic art deco setting of Soho House Amsterdam. Thought Machine’s Randolph (Randy) McFarlane and Christian Rau from Mastercard welcomed guests over signature Picante cocktails and classic Cecconi bites. Together, they shared valuable insights into why Thought Machine was selected as Mastercard’s sole strategic end-to-end core banking partner and how we aim to deliver next-generation technology solutions to the world’s most ambitious banks. Thank you to our guests for joining us in Amsterdam, and to the Mastercard team for your ongoing support. 

London Venture Capital Network is thrilled to announce that Paul Taylor, CEO and Founder of Thought Machine, will deliver the keynote address at this year’s Venture Capital Winter Ball. Paul founded Thought Machine in 2014 with a mission to revolutionise the outdated banking systems holding millions of users back. As a serial entrepreneur and tech visionary, Paul’s expertise spans speech technology, machine learning, and natural language processing. Before Thought Machine, Paul led the text-to-speech team at Google, creating the voice technology behind Google Maps, Google Now, and accessibility features. He joined Google following the acquisition of Phonetic Arts, a company he co-founded to deliver groundbreaking speech technology for the gaming industry. Prior to that, he was co-founder and CTO of Rhetorical Systems, which was later acquired by Nuance. Join us on Thursday, 5 December 2024, at The Royal Horseguards Hotel for the most glamorous evening in venture capital. With 30+ family offices, 150+ investors, and 200+ startups, this is your opportunity to connect with industry leaders and hear from one of the most inspiring innovators of our time. Secure your tickets now: https://lu.ma/vcwinterball #VCWinterBall #LondonNetworking #VentureCapital #Innovation #Fintech #ThoughtLeadership #StartupEcosystem

Great news: our partner, JPMorganChase/Chase UK, is rolling out its first credit card offering in the UK! The product is being offered to an initial pool of 25,000 customers in the UK, and the bank has attracted more than two million customers since its launch. Find out more in this Financial Times article by Akila Quinio and Joshua Franklin: https://lnkd.in/eaTy8ng4

The payments landscape is changing fast, driven by three core factors: 👉 Surging payment volumes: Global transactions are rising fast, with the UK’s Faster Payments Service up 14% annually and India’s UPI growing by 50% year-over-year. 👉 New regulations: New standards like PSD3 and ISO 20022 push banks to continuously update and secure their systems. 👉 Intensifying competition: Customers expect seamless, instant payments, while agile newcomers challenge incumbents with modern technology. In this conversation, our managing director of engineering, Piotr Kozlowski, and head of product, Joshua Thattil, discuss why banks struggle with fragmented, project-based systems that are costly and hard to adapt to these new conditions. Next week, Josh and Piotr will cover what an optimal payment solution looks like––and how it can help banks cut costs, innovate quickly, and stay flexible in a dynamic industry. Full episode here: https://lnkd.in/emhnSiWs

SEB, the Tier 1 Swedish bank, has launched SEB Embedded––a cutting-edge Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform powered by Vault Core, setting a new standard in BaaS technology. The platform’s first product, Hemköp Matkonto, was launched in less than 10 months in collaboration with Hemköp, one of Sweden’s premier supermarket chains. This service enables Hemköp customers to effortlessly manage grocery budgets, earn loyalty points, and access exclusive in-store discounts—all within a streamlined, intuitive banking experience. Learn more about our partnership with SEB and this exciting new platform here: https://lnkd.in/e_X4a6TT

BCA Syariah, a subsidiary of Indonesia’s largest bank, PT Bank Central Asia Tbk (BCA), has successfully gone live on Vault Core! Leveraging our comprehensive global Product Library, BCA Syariah has rapidly developed and launched multiple Shariah-compliant products––including Wadiah savings, an e-wallet top-up service, and an online Hajj Fee deposit––setting new standards for speed in both technology adoption and product rollout. Learn more about how the bank is using our technology to modernise Islamic financial services in Indonesia: https://lnkd.in/gSyScudZ PT Bank Central Asia Tbk (BCA)

We’re pleased to welcome Afin Bank Limited as our newest client! Afin Bank is using our technology to launch a digital banking platform that provides mortgage solutions for the African diaspora living in the UK.  Monica Velasquez, CTO of Afin Bank, shares why they chose Vault Core: “Drawing on my extensive experience in the core banking market, I understand what defines a high-quality, next-generation platform. We selected Vault Core for its product excellence. It is cloud-native, highly configurable, and uniquely universal.” Learn more about our partnership here: https://lnkd.in/ezsPzBjn