Core banking system
The central software a bank uses to run accounts, post transactions, calculate interest and keep its ledger, often called the bank core.
What a core banking system is
A core banking system is the platform that holds a bank's customer accounts and ledger. It opens accounts, posts deposits, withdrawals and payments, calculates interest and fees, and produces statements. In Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS), partners often connect to the core through APIs to offer accounts and payments.
How it works
Older cores often process transactions in nightly batches and were not built for outside access. Modern cores often post in real time and offer APIs for opening accounts, issuing cards and moving money. Subledgers inside the core can track each end customer's balance in an FBO (for benefit of) account.
- 01 · OPEN The core creates accounts and links them to customer records.
- 02 · POST Deposits, payments and card transactions post to the ledger.
- 03 · REPORT The core calculates interest and fees and produces statements and reports.
When businesses use it
- Banks running deposits, loans and payments on one system of record
- Fintechs launching accounts and cards through a partner bank's core
- Platforms tracking end-customer balances with subledgers
- Programs moving money across ACH, wires and instant rails from one integration
COS (Cross River Operating System) is Cross River's proprietary, API-driven bank core. It connects partners to lending, payments, cards, accounts and compliance infrastructure, with real-time ledgering and subledgers on demand. See COS at Cross River.