Introduction – Why Institutional Knowledge Is Critical

ISO 20022 migration, real-time settlement expansion, next-generation instruments, and AI-driven fraud frameworks are accelerating the modernization of payment and capital markets systems. At the same time, a critical gap is widening between technology deployment and the operational expertise required to sustain it.

Simultaneously, Central banks, private payment system operators, and their participating financial institutions are investing billions in next-generation infrastructure. In fact, the World Bank’s 2024 assessment highlights a key issue. Institutional capacity – the depth of technical and operational knowledge within an organization – remains the most cited risk factor in large-scale financial infrastructure projects. More importantly, the challenge is structural. Experienced operators are retiring. System complexity is increasing. The operational teams responsible for running mission-critical infrastructure must evolve as fast as the technology they manage.

Complexity Is Outpacing Capacity

To understand the scale of this shift, modern payment and securities systems are no longer standalone platforms. They form interconnected ecosystems spanning RTGS, ACH, instant payments, exchanges, CCPs, CSDs, and cross-border corridors. Each operates under distinct regulatory frameworks and operational protocols.

For example, consider the scale of change underway:

ISO 20022 Migration

Swift’s ISO 20022 migration requires fundamental changes to message construction, validation, and exception management. These changes affect every every connected institution. As of November 2024, only 28% of global cross-border payments on the Swift network had transitioned to the new standard. By early January 2026, a few months after the MT-MX migration deadline, there will still 2900 out of approx. 7200 Swift users in scope who have yet to migrate, albeit representing well below 5% of payments traffic on the Swift network, according to the latest report shared with its national user communities). Critically, ISO 20022 is not an IT upgrade — every department from operations and compliance to customer service must understand the shift.

24/7 RTGS Expansion

24/7 RTGS expansion is increasing operational exposure in ways legacy shift models were never designed to handle. BIS/CPMI 2024 data shows that RTGS systems operate an average of 66 hours per week out of 168 possible. Only five systems globally run 24/7. The share of central banks operating RTGS for 17–24 hours has risen to 18.4%, with the Bank of England actively planning a phased move toward near-24/7 operation. Continuous settlement demands continuous operational readiness. This shift to 24-hour availability is also seen in securities, with the NYSE announcing their move to 24-hour trading for securities in tokenized form, possibly already going live in 2026.

AI-driven Compliance and Fraud Frameworks

These frameworks introduce new decision layers that operations teams must understand, calibrate, and govern. Deloitte’s 2026 Banking Outlook finds 63% of finance functions actively using AI, with EY reporting that over 70% of banks are deploying agentic AI in some form. The institutions extracting value have teams that deeply understand these models. They can challenge, tune, and override them when needed.

Taken together, each of these shifts multiplies operational complexity. Complexity without corresponding capability creates systemic risk.

Infrastructure investment without proportional investment in human capital is an incomplete strategy. The institutions that operationalize new systems fastest are those that treat training as infrastructure – not overhead.

From Vendor Training to Strategic Capability Building

As a result, traditional vendor training – focused narrowly on feature walkthroughs and system manuals – is no longer sufficient. Financial market infrastructures and institutions need structured, immersive capability-building. These programs bridge the gap between technology design and operational reality.

In practice, effective programs share several key characteristics:

• Domain-integrated curriculum: Practitioners design training that reflects both the technology and the regulatory and market context in which it operates.
• Hands-on simulation: Real-world scenario exercises – settlement failures, liquidity stress events, fraud escalation – that build muscle memory for high-stakes operations.
• Cross-functional exposure: Programs that connect technology teams with compliance, risk, and business stakeholders to create shared operational language.
• Continuous development cycles: These programs go beyond one-time onboarding. They provide structured progression aligned with system evolution, business shifts, and regulatory change.

The most resilient financial institutions treat professional development as a risk mitigation strategy. When operational teams deeply understand the systems they run, incident response improves, compliance strengthens, and innovation accelerates.

The Institutional Knowledge Imperative

At the same time, the financial infrastructure sector faces a convergence of pressures. These pressures make make institutional knowledge more valuable—and more fragile—than ever.

Generational Transition

First, a generational transition is underway. Datos Insights reports that a critical mass of experienced operators who built and sustained legacy infrastructure are projected to retire by 2027. They will take decades of tacit knowledge with them. Finance professional pipelines have contracted sharply, with CPA candidates down 27% over the past decade, compounding the IT talent shortage.

Regulatory Acceleration

Meanwhile, the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) – effective January 2025 – is already creating compliance pressure, with only 8% of financial institutions reporting full compliance on third-party risk and resilience testing. From CPMI-IOSCO operational guidance to evolving CBPR+ market practice requirements, the compliance burden is now continuous, not episodic.

Technology Convergence

In parallel, AI, cloud, and DLT capabilities are converging into core systems, the operational skill set required is fundamentally changing. The institutions that thrive are those building teams capable of navigating this intersection – not just implementing tools, but understanding them deeply enough to manage, override, and evolve them.

Institutional knowledge is not a static asset – it must be continuously renewed. Organizations that systematize capability building create durable competitive advantages that technology procurement alone cannot replicate.

Strategic Imperatives

Given these challenges, institutions should focus on four strategic imperatives:

1. Treat training as infrastructure investment: Allocate capability building alongside technology budgets, not as an afterthought.
2. Prioritize practitioner-led programs: Seek development partners with deep domain expertise and hands-on implementation experience across markets.
3. Build continuous learning frameworks: Align professional development cycles with system upgrades, regulatory changes, and operational milestones.
4. Make capability building a talent strategy: Structured professional development attracts stronger candidates and retains experienced operators — turning training into a competitive advantage.

Financial infrastructure is only as strong as the people who operate it. In an era of accelerating complexity, institutional knowledge is not a support function – it is a strategic asset.

Why Montran Is the Partner of Record

In this context, Montran Academy delivers structured, practitioner-led training programs built on decades of hands-on experience deploying and operating mission-critical payment and securities infrastructure across global markets. Montran designs programs to accelerate operational readiness, deepen institutional expertise, and support long-term system resilience. These programs support long-term system resilience and equip teams with the knowledge to confidently manage increasingly complex financial ecosystems.

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