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Yes. Some banks still run COBOL behind the scenes here.

by rglover 5y ago

yohannparis 5y ago
running COBOL behind the scenes have nothing to do with an easy API access and a consortium for interbanking.
- rmbyrro 5y ago
  Maybe they pointed out as an indication that some financial institutions in the US are not modern technologically speaking, and that may be a cause for lacking better APIs?
  - ericmay 5y ago
    That was probably the intention but I think that isn't a core reason. It's more about business/tech incentives around these APIs. The industry is more risk-averse, and frankly there isn't necessarily a great business case for doing integrations if you're a big bank because you don't want to be commoditized into "pipes" and then have to compete on low-margin products all the while the middle companies have better margins and skim off the top of you. At least on the consumer side. There's this meme that banks are technologically backwards and all that, and I don't think that is true or a good frame of reference to have. The scale, complexity, regulatory environment, and risk-aversion when something bad happens are far and away more relevant factors than technology is.
    - rmbyrro 5y ago
      I agree, but don't think the original comment deserves down voting. It's an acceptable argument. Might not hold water, though.
haswell 5y ago
For some systems, this is arguably a feature. Banks are rightly cautious about touching core transaction processing systems, systems that cost millions per minute when down. But the use of COBOL generally doesn’t extend to the consumer facing product, or the APIs that support those consumer facing experiences. Banks may be backwards, but the use of older languages is not one of the primary reasons.
- quadcore 5y ago
  It makes me trust them more when they use old software that I never got to complain about.
zinekeller 5y ago
... and I'm pretty sure a majority of banks here still runs COBOL, but it didn't stop them creating a consortium and simplifying things!
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
paxys 5y ago
What they run on their backend doesn't really matter. If they can provide a website with username/password login, they can have an OAuth layer as well. It isn't a technical problem but a business/priorities one.

Yes. Some banks still run COBOL behind the scenes here.

yohannparis 5y ago

running COBOL behind the scenes have nothing to do with an easy API access and a consortium for interbanking.

rmbyrro 5y ago
Maybe they pointed out as an indication that some financial institutions in the US are not modern technologically speaking, and that may be a cause for lacking better APIs?
- ericmay 5y ago
  That was probably the intention but I think that isn't a core reason. It's more about business/tech incentives around these APIs. The industry is more risk-averse, and frankly there isn't necessarily a great business case for doing integrations if you're a big bank because you don't want to be commoditized into "pipes" and then have to compete on low-margin products all the while the middle companies have better margins and skim off the top of you. At least on the consumer side. There's this meme that banks are technologically backwards and all that, and I don't think that is true or a good frame of reference to have. The scale, complexity, regulatory environment, and risk-aversion when something bad happens are far and away more relevant factors than technology is.
  - rmbyrro 5y ago
    I agree, but don't think the original comment deserves down voting. It's an acceptable argument. Might not hold water, though.

haswell 5y ago

For some systems, this is arguably a feature. Banks are rightly cautious about touching core transaction processing systems, systems that cost millions per minute when down. But the use of COBOL generally doesn’t extend to the consumer facing product, or the APIs that support those consumer facing experiences. Banks may be backwards, but the use of older languages is not one of the primary reasons.

quadcore 5y ago
It makes me trust them more when they use old software that I never got to complain about.

zinekeller 5y ago

... and I'm pretty sure a majority of banks here still runs COBOL, but it didn't stop them creating a consortium and simplifying things!

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

paxys 5y ago

What they run on their backend doesn't really matter. If they can provide a website with username/password login, they can have an OAuth layer as well. It isn't a technical problem but a business/priorities one.