Usually a bank has a whole zoo of various programs. And they solve somewhere very similar, somewhere completely different tasks. I will not name specific programs, but I will tell you what is used there in general, what tasks have to be solved. I do not pretend to be complete.
The activities of an average bank can be divided into two large parts. I would conventionally call them that. It is the processing of "online" and "offline" transactions. In the industry, programs for them are usually divided into "front office" and "back office". Such names exist not only in the banking system, of course, but in general in corporate systems.
When you pay with a card, or withdraw cash from an ATM, or pay for something on the Internet, then all these transactions are processed by the so-called. "front-office" system of the bank (processing). It is called so because the client is facing her front to front. And there is also some mechanics, from the back ... uh ... from the back. Back office. There, interest is accrued, additional commissions are charged, money is laid out on accounts, etc. etc. This happens partly automatically, partly in manual mode. But in any case - under the supervision of bank clerks.
And banks, as we all know, work so conservatively that even the dates are checked on them. In all contracts, it is written directly in this way: the term of payment is so many banking days. And we all know that usually the bank is open from nine to six, and they have lunch from one to two. Well, this is if the "normal bank". Why am I reminding you of these unpleasant things? Here's why.
Look. Now, let's say it's March 8th. Even if the bank worked, the majority of the clerks there are still women. Those. no chance at all. And you are already hot - you urgently need to fulfill the norm for tulips this month, under the threat of changing the status from "found" to "in active search". And you go with a plastic card to a flower shop, and you go out with ready-made tulips. Your payment has been automatically processed by the bank's (or processing) front-office system. Although there is no clerk in the bank now. The available balance of your card has irrevocably and suddenly decreased. But maybe you used a credit card, for example. And then the bank should calculate the interest on the loan, and maybe somehow take this operation into account in the loyalty program, etc. Usually, the front office system is not loaded with such minor matters. Its task is to service the payment as quickly as possible, and then we'll figure it out. And we'll figure it out - when the clerks come to work. In this case, these are four long non-banking days ... Until March 12th.
To be able to process a payment really quickly, the front office system usually does not store any invoices, or transaction histories, or anything like that. Card number, its limits, balance on it. Well, we can still do something, but at a minimum, without which it will definitely not work to work.
And when the clerks, who have slightly plump after the holidays, sit down at their workplaces again, they will begin to interact with the back-office system. In which there are already not only card numbers and their balances, but everything is already drawn: bills, transactions, card products, loyalty programs, etc. etc. What is unimportant from tzr. making an immediate payment, but it is important for mutual settlements and accounting.
As you can see, it is necessary to coordinate the work of the front office and back office. The front office works, as English-speaking authors like to write, 24/7, 24 hours 7 days a week (this is because there is no word for "round the clock" in English). And the back office is open ... Banking days. Quite often, completely different programs are responsible for the work of the back office and front office, but they get along well with each other. They can be of the same manufacturer, they can be different.
However, it sometimes happens that one program is responsible for the work of both the front and the back. But this slight schizophrenic duality also does not pass for nothing - she has to measure part of the processes by day, and part - by banking days. But everything seems to be inside one program.
Let me summarize these two systems. Front - knows how to work with the terminal network (ATMs, POS terminals, kiosks, Internet terminals), knows how to keep minimal records related to card transactions, and knows how to interact with other information systems (for example, payment system processing). Back - mostly deals with accounts, accounting, card products, clients, charges, banking products, etc. Something that does not require round-the-clock work (most often).
Above, I talked about programs related to map processing. But the fact is that the bank is not only dealing with cards. There are also just accounts in the bank that have nothing to do with cards. And the program that allows you to manage all these accounts, process payments, transfers, etc. - called "Automated Banking System". Abbreviated - ABS. Personally, I don't really understand how this is possible - that the banking system only keeps accounts, but often does not contain adequate means for working with cards. However, quite often this is the case. It looks like there are non-market mechanisms here (agreements between software manufacturers). But sometimes the ABS is combined with what I called the back office above, i.e. she also conducts operations related to servicing plastic cards. The division into ABS and back-office is conditional and does not always take place.
Honestly, in terms of the specifics of my work, I have never seen the ABS in my eyes (I am connected more with card products). I only know the functions that it performs approximately. The real ecosystem of a bank can mix front office, back office and ABS in completely arbitrary proportions. It all depends on which system is "central" (often it is the ABS), what it can do and what the bank's business processes are. All of these software products cost untold money (oh, I just realized that untold is from the word "estimate"). Moreover, not a single self-respecting software manufacturer will publish the price list anywhere. And he will never answer the direct question "how much is it worth". First, because all of these systems are large and very modular. It all depends enormously on the options you want. Secondly, because the cost of ownership includes support, rewinding, finishing, finishing and other locksmith operations on the system. And thirdly, because this is the business, there is no transparency in it. According to my information, of course.
A plus to the front office, back office and ABS can be a number of seemingly separate, but functionally related programs. For example, a fraudulent activity control program can be separately identified. Or a map publishing program. Or ATM configuration software. Or a program for interacting with a payment system. Etc. There are no general standards, somewhere these are separate programs, somewhere these are modules of an integral system. Somewhere all this is implemented within the framework of one large software product, somewhere - a whole zoo of systems from different manufacturers. But the tasks are solved the same, and the functions are implemented those that I briefly mentioned.
In general, programs for bank processing are very different from those we are used to. Functionality is at the forefront there, sometimes at the expense of convenience. They are painfully cumbersome, they are industrial systems. Therefore, it is very difficult for a simple user to deal with them without special training.
In the overwhelming majority of cases, Oracle is used as a database. This is practically the most expensive database. I once asked a colleague how long the minimum adequate license would be. So, in the region of hundreds of kilobucks. But on the other hand, this is one of the most pumped-over systems. You can do whatever you want with the base. The functionality is incredibly rich, and the reliability is high.
Of course, in any bank there are a number of day-to-day programs that are not related to the processing of transactions, invoices, payments ... And they are also necessary for business. But that's a completely different story.
I have only touched on the most general concepts. If suddenly you want me to develop the topic - actively like and write to me.
