The Forrester Wave™: Digital Banking Engagement Platforms, Q2 2026

Digital Banking Engagement Platforms Vendor Product Comparisons 2026

Key features and pros and cons of top Digital Banking Engagement Platforms products:

Backbase - Leaders

Pros:

Superior vision focusing on AI-first strategy with shared truth across banks' systems and building connections, not components
Excellent innovation with Agent Studio and one of the highest R&D-to-revenue ratios
Platform's six specialized layers (interaction, orchestration, control, semantic, intelligence, integration) enable better integration and faster cycles
Excellent out-of-the-box (OOTB) solutions and CX design tools
Superior agentic AI with agents for data retrieval and classification plus tools for engineers to build agents
GenAI offers conversational UIs for end users, TuringBots for developers, and generative tools for non-IT employees
Platform securely exposes banking functionality to external LLMs
Transparent pricing model incorporates outcome-based pricing
Strong adoption support for end users, employees, and developers

Cons:

Not suitable for banks unprepared to use its open architecture and API-first approach

Infosys Finacle - Leaders

Pros:

Strong innovation and adoption methodologies that help banks make the most of emerging tech
R&D combines proven internal innovation (over 100 patents) with ecosystem approach using sandboxes, hackathons, and academic partnerships
Strong partnership strategy
Focused and realistic roadmap
Greatest strength is lack of serious gaps, combining superior OOTB solutions with on-par capabilities
Superior AI offerings with small and large language models supporting wide range of use cases and user types
Native alerts engine
Serves more than 1 billion consumers in over 100 countries

Cons:

Vision lacks differentiation - aims to be 'better' in specific ways but lacks differentiated plan for fundamental shifts in banking
Customers are lukewarm on integration, saying it's not plug-and-play in some cases
Customers are tentative on AI tools
Agentic AI offerings are nascent

Temenos - Leaders

Pros:

Robust OOTB solutions with wealth of prebuilt capabilities
Superior channel support with native apps, video and cobrowsing functionality
APIs via Quantum Fabric layer lets banks unify multiple apps on a single touchpoint
Headless approach gives banks versatility
Excels at security and localization
Strong search experience tools
Strong partner ecosystem - pioneer of the marketplace model
Greater transparency on roadmap and pricing than other vendors
Provides localized 'microapps' specific to dozens of markets
Supports banks in every region

Cons:

String of leadership changes have led to uncertainty about future direction and strategic decisions
Customers express anxiety about frequency of change at Temenos
Customers describe running into lack of knowledge due to staff turnover
AI and data management capabilities are on par but not superior

Alkami Technology - Contenders

Pros:

Superior vision of 'anticipatory banking' focusing on predictive and proactive capabilities
Superior partnership strategy taking highly-curated approach to tech and product ecosystem
Digital Sales & Service Platform (DSSP) stands out in onboarding new customers across channels
Strong at leveraging data to cross-sell at scale
Customers praise customer communications and support
Strong SDK
R&D spending over 25% of revenue
2025 acquisition of MANTL enables omni- and cross-channel account opening

Cons:

Adoption and innovation efforts lack consistent frameworks
Behind other vendors on cutting-edge ideas like semantic layers, digital currencies, and purpose-built small language models
Exclusive US market focus keeps it behind on localization, open banking, and low-code tools
Lacks native agentic AI capabilities (though banks can use third-party AI agents via partners)
GenAI lacks native capabilities for developers or bank employees
Customers don't have strong sense of AI strategy or offerings
API management gets good-but-not-leading scores from customers

Candescent - Contenders

Pros:

Superior search capabilities
Strong onboarding experiences
Decent analytics tools
Solid support for most important digital touchpoints and cross-channel journeys
Marketplace supports range of fintech integrations via APIs
Customers praise customer service and API offerings
Flexible and more transparent pricing model than some DBEPs
Serves more than 1,300 banks and credit unions across North America

Cons:

Must reconcile two seemingly competing platforms (D3 and legacy DI) to ensure unified or highly integrated offering
Roadmap lacks further transparency and consistent framework beyond quarterly presentations
Lacks outcome-based pricing
OOTB chat, messaging, alerts, and notifications capabilities not as advanced as other DBEPs and depend on third-party integrations
Currently offers few bank-employee-facing low-code and AI tools
Customers give mixed reviews on back-end data management and AI

FIS - Contenders

Pros:

Stepped up partnership efforts including integrations with Glia, SavvyMoney, and Personetics
Straightforward roadmap with practical improvements to payments and open banking
Solid channel support for end users
Outstanding support for employees managing journeys
Superior monthly, cloud-based deployments of updates and new features
Legacy Amount capabilities provide strong origination tools and card management and decisioning capabilities
Customers share positive notes about ease of integrating Digital One with other FIS products
2025 acquisition of Amount strengthens digital capabilities

Cons:

Vision lacks differentiation - emphasizes simplicity, tech integration, and 'always-on' offerings but lacks bold strategy for AI era
Innovation is weaker than other leading vendors with stronger R&D efforts
Behind on AI, having only a few capabilities and lacking robust foundational orchestration layer
In specific areas like search functionality, FIS lacks what many other DBEPs support OOTB
Customers express frustration with customer service and ticketing
Customers have concerns about mobile app offering
Customers express trepidation about AI strategy

Fiserv - Contenders

Pros:

Solid capabilities in search and card management experiences
Serves wide swath of US market - roughly a third of US banking providers use Fiserv's core
Customers share positive views of OOTB solutions
Experience Digital (XD) platform supports consumer banking with strategy to strengthen small business banking suite

Cons:

Lacks clear, differentiated vision for platform's role in banks' ecosystems and long-term business success
Innovation efforts and pricing models are murky with little guidance to customers
Messaging, chat, and customer-facing data management lack capabilities common among leading DBEPs
Data sharing and management tools fail to offer single-hub experience for end users
Current genAI offerings limited to assistance in knowledge retrieval and developer-facing tools
Low-code tooling limited compared to market leaders
Customers are underwhelmed by architecture, API integration, and AI efforts
Roadmap is only roughly on par with DBEP market

Intellect Design Arena - Strong Performers

Pros:

Event-based alerts and real-time/asynchronous messaging
Strong open banking capabilities for range of geographies
Lead in agentic AI via Purple Fabric - enterprise-grade AI platform providing foundational blocks for managing agents
Customers praise forays into AI agents for specific use cases powered by Purple Fabric
Customers praise some OOTB tools like alerts engine
Provides core banking and native digital front-end capabilities to over 500 customers in more than 60 countries
Recently strengthened DBEP by launching eMACH.ai (open banking) and Purple Fabric (enterprise AI) solutions

Cons:

Roadmap lacks definition, detail, and transparency compared to other leading DBEP vendors
Must bridge gap between promise of cloud-native, headless, AI- and API-first ecosystem and current reality of banks' legacy tech and integration issues
Customers note need to deliver planned enhancements on time and in ways that seamlessly integrate with new and existing systems
Requires banks to have internal tech talent to ensure integration and implementation

Oracle - Strong Performers

Pros:

Superior CX capabilities
Valuable functionality in key areas like card management and credit decisioning
Data aggregation stands out - supports widest range of data types and real-time capabilities among evaluated vendors
Customers praise breadth of features including analytics and transactional tools
Good integrations with other Oracle solutions
Serves banks across five continents
Solutions for retail, corporate, and Islamic banking

Cons:

Pricing opacity is an issue
Partnership efforts weaker than other DBEP vendors - neither highly-curated stable of partners nor hands-off, easy-to-integrate, API-led integration platform
DBEP falls short on certain OOTB capabilities such as search and notifications
Integration issues with third-party systems can limit banks' agility and flexibility
Customers cite issues with some OOTB capabilities and third-party integrations requiring custom configuration
Despite AI-focused strategy, customers see Oracle's AI capabilities as unproven

Q2 - Strong Performers

Pros:

Superior strategic focus with discipline to identify what it will and will not emphasize
Strong innovation including initiatives to improve SDK, apply proprietary AI in fraud detection/resolution, and strengthen core-agnostic integration layer
Strong adoption strategy using guided onboarding, contextual help, in-app messaging and alerts
Well ahead of other DBEPs in API management and ease of integration
Platform flexibility helps it stand out in extensibility and agility
Superior capabilities marketplace with Innovation Studio and My Toolkit for developers
Customers praise SDK, update and release cadence, and API-first architecture approach
Customer feedback well above average on communicating with clients, fulfilling promises, and best-in-class API offerings

Cons:

Room to improve in localization, open banking, and embedded finance offerings
Focuses on engagement layers rather than full platform approach

SBS - Strong Performers

Pros:

Superior on security, open banking, and embedded finance
Platform supports compliant open banking functionality
Can white-label and embed individual products or whole product suite as BaaS proposition
Strong existing low-code tools - bank employees can quickly redesign experience components and build/test new workflows
More agile, iterative, and transparent roadmap than other vendors
Value proposition combines OOTB journeys with app extensibility
Innovation and adoption strategies focus on time to value for banks
Partnerships with AWS and other major tech firms help increase speed
Customers describe SBS as reliable and secure
Customers praise open banking and embedded finance strategy - earns near-perfect marks in these areas
Part of 74Software alongside API management platform Axway

Cons:

Not clear how SBS will adapt current offerings to new AI technologies like agents and probabilistic models
Weaker on functionality like customer-facing data management - features sufficient for basic marketing and consent but lack deeper data control tools
Customers are unsure about current AI offerings and future plans

FAQs

Q: Which vendors are Leaders in 2026?

A: Backbase, Infosys Finacle, Temenos

Q: What does "Leader" mean in Forrester Wave terms?

A: Leaders in the Forrester Wave are vendors that demonstrate strong current offerings and robust strategies. They excel across multiple evaluation criteria and show the ability to help banks navigate the AI era with platforms that strengthen banks' dynamism - the combination of speed and degree of change they can achieve. Leaders typically have superior capabilities in areas like innovation, platform architecture, AI integration, and support for banks' adoption efforts.

Q: How do I interpret a Forrester Wave?

A: https://www.forrester.com/policies/forrester-wave-methodology/

Report:

Top Vendor Products for Digital Banking Engagement Platforms in 2026

Digital Banking Engagement Platforms Vendor Product Comparisons 2026

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FAQs

Q: Which vendors are Leaders in 2026?

Q: What does "Leader" mean in Forrester Wave terms?

Q: How do I interpret a Forrester Wave?

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