We finally did it. We recorded an episode about legacy and somehow ended up discussing drones, artillery, aviation safety culture, and why bankers apparently don’t need pockets in their suits.

In this episode of Fintech Daydreaming, we’re joined by Erik Åkesson to unpack one of the most overused and misunderstood words in banking: legacy.

Is it the root of all evil?

Or is it actually the thing keeping the whole system standing?

Erik brings a refreshingly broad perspective (and about 20 years of banking experience) to the table, drawing parallels from:

Military strategy (yes, really)

Aviation and safety culture

And the everyday reality of running a bank with systems older than some of its employees

We explore:

Why “legacy” isn’t just bad code, but the situation you’re in because of your history

How banks might be underinvesting in understanding their current state (while overinvesting in PowerPoint futures)

Whether AI is actually solving legacy problems… or just becoming the latest shiny object

And why improving your existing systems by 3% might matter more than launching the next flashy use case

Naturally, things got slightly heated towards the end as we debated what matters more:

👉 defining the target state

👉 or truly understanding where you are today

(No clear winner. Just strong opinions. As usual.)

Also:

We recorded this before summer

You’re listening to it now

And we still don’t know how that keeps happening

🎧 If you’ve ever worked in banking, fintech or tried to modernize anything without breaking everything this one’s for you.

💬 Let us know: is legacy your biggest constraint or your biggest advantage

Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl & Ville Sointu

Episode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming

- Email us on [email protected]

- Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com

- Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming

- Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/

- Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/