As community bankers face increasing pressures to deliver a truly awesome digital customer experience, many report feeling constrained in choice, speed and agility by core processors. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, guests discuss how the next generation of core banking technology is evolving.

“If we can get the core right, we’ve got a core platform that is open and accessible through APIs,” says David Hunkele, head of banking as a service at Live Oak Bank. “If you can get to that point, then you have lots of possibilities in terms of whom you do business with, the partners that you bring to bear and how you bring those partnerships to your customers in ways that are meaningful for them.” Hunkele discusses how Live Oak is rethinking core technology — and how other services intersect with the core — to deliver a better customer experience. He also shares practical tips for banks moving steadily in the direction of an open core.

Hunkele and ABA’s Christopher McClinton also discuss how Finxact — an open, cloud-based emerging core processing firm that both ABA and Live Oak have invested in — supports moves toward  “an elegant banking experience.” McClinton also talks about ABA’s overall work to help bankers work more collaboratively with all core providers.