Nationwide feels the need, the need for Speed Layer

By Robin Amlot

Nationwide Building Society has implemented a new Speed Layer as part of its continued investment in innovation and technology. The Speed Layer is a new set of cloud native technologies that work together to provide accurate, real time and secure data.

The Speed Layer, developed by Nationwide’s engineers in partnership with Publicis Sapient, utilises the latest cloud native technology. It has already processed more than a third of a billion transactions with tens of thousands more being added each day. The system validates the ongoing accuracy of data, reconciling over 100,000 data items per second. The high-performance system will make data available to Nationwide’s Banking App users far quicker than existing systems.  This will start off with the login process but will include more interactions as the capability is extended, ultimately making processing times up to 500% faster.

The team have adopted modern engineering practices based on Dev Ops, agile delivery, and test automation to ensure that further features can be delivered at pace. The development and deployment of new features will help the Society’s more than 3.6 million mobile active members manage their money quickly, easily and securely.

David Burke, Chief Technology Officer, Nationwide Building Society said: “Millions of our members are completing billions of digital transactions each and every year. We are always looking for ways to provide a faster, more convenient and more secure experience for our members. The implementation of our cutting edge Speed Layer does just that. By harnessing the power of cloud native technologies, we have built a new foundation for our digital services. I’m now excited about the work that our teams of engineers are exploring to use this new technology to deliver new services and support for Nationwide’s members.”

David Murphy, Financial Services Lead EMEA & APAC, Publicis Sapient, said: “As a leader in digital business transformation within financial services, Publicis Sapient is extremely proud of our partnership with Nationwide, continuing to support the transformation of their core technology foundation, driving product services and exceptional experiences for their customers. Together, we’ve created Speed Layer – a modern, highly performant, and resilient platform that will enable innovation, increase the pace of change, and ensure that data is available to continue to drive product services and new value for Nationwide members 24/7.”

Nationwide now has a comprehensive multi-cloud strategy including the new Mortgage Switching Service which, since its launch in 2018, has completed 230,000 switches – cutting the application journey time by a third due to the ease and convenience of a cloud powered service.