ConnectPay Launches In-House Core Banking System to Strengthen Resilience

ConnectPay, one of Lithuania’s largest fintechs, has completed the transition to its in-house core banking system, Mars, joining a small group of European fintechs that fully own and operate their core infrastructure as the industry faces growing resilience and regulatory demands through 2026.

Core banking systems act as the single source of truth for account balances, transactions, and payments. While most fintechs rely on third-party providers for this critical layer, ConnectPay made the strategic decision to bring the core in-house, removing its largest external dependency and significantly increasing operational resilience.

“With Mars, we removed the single biggest operational risk an EMI can have: dependency on an external core banking provider,” said Tadas Bakutis, CTO at ConnectPay. “If a third-party core goes down, clients feel it instantly. Now, we control the technology ourselves – which means faster issue resolution, greater stability, and the freedom to innovate without waiting on someone else’s roadmap.”

Speed that clients can feel

Beyond resilience, Mars enables ConnectPay to deliver product improvements in weeks rather than months. Previously, changes to the core depended on third-party release cycles and priorities. Today, ConnectPay can respond rapidly to regulatory changes, client needs, and market shifts.

As real-time payments become the standard of European financial infrastructure, such flexibility among companies is becoming increasingly important. With the EU requirement that all service providers must support instant payments by the end of 2025, it is projected that instant SEPA payments will account for 18% of all payments in Europe by 2035.

“For clients, the difference is simple: more stable services, faster product development, and stronger security,” added Bakutis. “And because we no longer pay external core licensing fees, this also creates long-term pricing advantages.”

A rare step in fintech

Building a core banking system is widely considered one of the most complex and capital-intensive undertakings in financial technology. It requires deep engineering expertise, strict regulatory alignment, and the ability to manage systemic risk – factors that lead most fintechs to outsource this layer entirely.

“As the industry enters its next phase – defined by instant payments, higher resilience standards, and deeper embedded finance – we believe infrastructure ownership will increasingly become a strategic advantage,” Bakutis summarizes.

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