What is Wintrust's technology stack?
Wintrust runs a vendor-built stack shaped by its structure of separately chartered community banks. PYMNTS reported in March 2023 that Wintrust 'operates 15 banks separately, each of which runs on its own core bank platform', so anything digital has to work across all of them. The customer layer is NCR's Digital First Banking platform, announced on December 2, 2020, which NCR manages and hosts in the cloud; its rollout took Wintrust from 15 separate apps to a single app. In the contact center, FIS Code Connect pulls account data across charters. Asked about AI at the RBC conference on March 10, 2026, management said the first step is switching on features in third-party packages, naming Workiva, Workday, nCino and FIS. The 2025 Form 10-K shows software and equipment expense up $19.6 million in the year, driven by software licensing, infrastructure upgrades and information security. Wintrust has not disclosed a cloud provider, a core banking vendor, a data platform or an engineering headcount.[1][2][3][4][5]
Data as of Nov 11, 2026 · Wintrust profile updated Nov 1, 2026 · 18 sources cited on this page · 141 banks profiled on this site · Markdown
What are the layers of Wintrust's technology stack?
Only what Wintrust, its vendors and the trade press have put on the record. Layers Wintrust has not described are listed under the next heading instead of being filled in.
| Layer | What is on the record | Source | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank charters and cores | Wintrust 'operates 15 banks separately, each of which runs on its own core bank platform', so new digital features must be implemented reliably across all of them | PYMNTS | March 24, 2023[1] |
| Digital banking platform | NCR's Digital First Banking platform, including its Channel Services Platform (CSP) and NCR D3 Digital Banking solutions: 'a modern, cloud-native, API based platform', managed by NCR and hosted in the cloud | NCR release | December 2, 2020[2] |
| Mobile app | The NCR D3 rollout took Wintrust from 15 separate apps to a single app for the customers of all its banks, across a footprint of 180 locations | PYMNTS | March 2023[1] |
| Contact center data | FIS Code Connect gives the call center a unified view of customer accounts across multiple charters and lets it 'reach back into the core and pull out all of the necessary data' | FIS client story | Undated[3] |
| Third-party packages | Workiva, Workday, nCino and products from FIS are the packages whose AI features management expects to turn on first | RBC conference transcript | March 10, 2026[4] |
| Software and equipment expense | $142,362 thousand in 2025 against $122,794 thousand in 2024, a $19.6 million increase attributed to software licensing for the digital customer experience, upgrades to infrastructure and information security | 2025 Form 10-K | February 2026[5] |
| Data processing expense | $46,522 thousand in 2025 against $39,736 thousand in 2024 | 2025 Form 10-K | February 2026[5] |
| Acquired-bank conversion | Macatawa Bank business customers converted to Wintrust's digital banking services over the weekend of April 25 to 28, 2025 | Wintrust conversion page | April 2025[6] |
| Internal AI assistant | Rosie, Wintrust's internal AI assistant, as reported by Equipment Finance News from remarks by the chief executive of Wintrust Specialty Finance; the model and vendor behind it are not stated | Equipment Finance News | October 2026[7] |
Who runs technology at Wintrust and what has it not disclosed?
Mike Ryan is executive vice president and chief information officer. Wintrust's biography says he was previously deputy chief information officer, responsible for technical business delivery and enablement, and that he joined Wintrust Technology in 2016 from FIRST Insurance Funding, the group's insurance premium finance subsidiary.[8]
Management's stated approach is to buy before it builds. At the RBC conference in March 2026 the company said AI was 'Very early on for us' and that 'early on it's gonna be turning on the feature functionality in a lot of the third-party packages that we have', under a governance program meant to protect client data.[4]
Spending is rising on the technology lines. The 2025 Form 10-K says the company 'continued to significantly invest in technology', and on the second-quarter 2026 call chief executive Tim Crane told analysts to 'expect some upward trajectory' in software and equipment expense, listing 'Better data management, the early phases of AI, the customer feature functionality we're delivering, cyber'.[5][9]
What is not on the record: Wintrust has not named a public cloud provider, the vendor or vendors of its banks' core platforms, a data platform, the model providers behind its AI tools or the size of its technology workforce. The 10-K discusses technology only through expense lines and risk factors on third-party providers.[5]
What does the Wintrust profile record on this topic?
The rows below are the entries of the Wintrust Financial AI strategy profile that bear on this page, as of Nov 1, 2026; the profile holds the full record of 23 dated moves, 10 use cases and 27 sources.
| Use case | What the record shows | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rosie internal AI assistant at Wintrust Specialty Finance | Described by the division's CEO as Wintrust's internal AI assistant; employees' ideas for using it are collected and acted on, per Equipment Finance News. The article gives no model, vendor, user count or scope beyond the division. | In production | [7] |
| Automated credit assessment in premium finance | Wintrust describes its property and casualty premium finance book of $8 billion to $9 billion as 'very automated', with hundreds of thousands of loans on premiums of about $50,000, and FIRST Insurance Funding's platform as providing automated credit assessments. Neither description says AI is used. | In production | [4][10] |
| AI features inside vendor packages | Management says early AI use is turning on features in packages from Workiva, Workday, nCino and FIS, 'starting to see some of that'. The 10-K adds that vendors, clients and counterparties may incorporate AI in their own processes and that Wintrust requires service providers to meet security requirements based on the risk of the relationship. | Rolling out | [4][5] |
| Board-level technology and AI oversight | The IT/IS Committee reviews and approves the technology strategic plan and the data management strategy and met four times in 2025; its members include Laura Kohl, credited in the 2026 proxy with guidance on AI objectives. The Chief Risk Officer administers enterprise risk management and reports to the Board, Audit and Risk Management Committees. | In production | [11][12] |
| Date | Move | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 15, 2026 | Specialty Finance CEO describes Rosie, Wintrust's internal AI assistant | Equipment Finance News reports David Normandin, speaking on a FinAi Lending Summit panel, says he refers to "Rosie, Wintrust's internal AI assistant" rather than "AI" to reduce employee anxiety, that leaders now ask how staff are working with Rosie on a problem, and that employee engagement with Rosie has produced a host of use cases; the article repeats the 4,000 deals and roughly $500 million figure already cited, attributed to earlier FinAi News reporting. | [7] |
| Aug 26, 2026 | Wintrust insurance banking note: automated credit assessments, AI governance watch | Wintrust's insurance banking update says FIRST Insurance Funding's digital-first platform provides automated credit assessments, and that the bank is watching new AI governance frameworks. | [10] |
| Aug 5, 2026 | Q2 10-Q: technology expense up 8% | Software and equipment expense is $39.3 million for the second quarter, up 8% from $36.5 million, and $74.9 million for six months against $71.2 million. | [13] |
| Jul 21, 2026 | Q2 2026 call: 'the early phases of AI' in technology spend | Crane lists better data management, early AI, customer features and cyber as the drivers of rising technology expense; AI is described as a modest competitive factor in Chicago so far. | [9] |
| Apr 21, 2026 | Q1 2026 call: COO cites technology investment in premium finance | Asked about premium finance volumes, Vice Chairman and COO David Dykstra says Wintrust has made 'significant investments in technology associated with that business, and the volume reflects that'. | [14] |
| Apr 9, 2026 | 2026 proxy statement: AI named in board technology oversight | The proxy credits Laura Kohl with guidance on technology, information security and 'artificial intelligence objectives', lists her on the IT/IS and Risk Management Committees, and shows Deborah Hall Lefevre, formerly Starbucks CTO, chairing the IT/IS Committee, which met four times in 2025. | [11] |
| Mar 10, 2026 | RBC conference: AI starts with vendor features | A Wintrust executive says early AI use is switching on features in third-party packages (Workiva, Workday, nCino, FIS) under a governance programme that protects client data, and that efficiency initiatives aim to keep headcount flat while the bank grows. | [4][15] |
| Feb 26, 2026 | 10-K cost lines: technology up 16%, headcount flat | Software and equipment expense is $142.4 million for 2025 against $122.8 million in 2024; full-time-equivalent employees are 5,902 against 5,903; premium finance originations are about $21.8 billion. | [5][16] |
| Feb 26, 2026 | 2025 Form 10-K: AI risk factor | Wintrust may selectively incorporate AI in business processes, fraud detection, services or products; vendors may too; policies govern AI applications on the company network; AI may enhance cyber attackers' efforts. | [5] |
| Oct 2, 2025 | Technology expertise added to the board | Laura Kohl, chief information officer of Morningstar, who leads its global technology strategy, joins Wintrust's board, bringing it to 14 members. | [17] |
| Apr 25, 2025 | Macatawa business customers convert to Wintrust platforms | Conversion weekend of 25 to 28 April 2025 moves Macatawa Bank business accounts onto Wintrust's digital banking and treasury services, with a new remote-deposit service and a 7 p.m. deposit cut-off. | [6] |
| Aug 1, 2024 | Macatawa acquisition completes | Wintrust acquires Macatawa Bank Corporation in an all-stock deal; Macatawa Bank, with about $2.7 billion of assets and 26 branches in West Michigan, stays a separately chartered bank and becomes the sixteenth Wintrust bank, the only one in Michigan. | [18] |
Which core banking system does Wintrust use?
Wintrust has not named one. PYMNTS reported in March 2023 that it operates 15 banks separately, each running on its own core bank platform, and an FIS client story says FIS Code Connect lets Wintrust's contact center reach back into the core for account data across charters.
What digital banking platform does Wintrust use?
NCR's Digital First Banking platform, which Wintrust selected in December 2020, including NCR's Channel Services Platform and D3 Digital Banking. NCR described it as cloud-native and API based, managed by NCR and hosted in the cloud. PYMNTS reported that the rollout replaced 15 separate apps with one.
Does Wintrust use the cloud?
Wintrust has not named a cloud provider or published a cloud share. What is documented is narrower: its digital banking platform is hosted in the cloud and managed by NCR, and the 2025 Form 10-K says the company capitalizes eligible costs of qualifying cloud computing arrangements.
How much does Wintrust spend on technology?
There is no single technology budget. The 2025 Form 10-K reports software and equipment expense of $142,362 thousand, up $19.6 million on 2024, and data processing expense of $46,522 thousand. The chief executive said in July 2026 that investors should expect that line to keep rising.
Which vendors does Wintrust rely on for AI?
At the RBC conference in March 2026 management named Workiva, Workday, nCino and FIS as third-party packages whose AI features it expects to turn on first. Its internal AI assistant is called Rosie, according to Equipment Finance News; Wintrust has not said which model or vendor powers it.
- An Insider's View on Managing Change for Digital-Everywhere Success
- Wintrust Selects NCR Digital First Banking Platform
- Wintrust Bank Client Story (undated page, retrieved 2026-11-11)
- Strategic Growth and Stability (Wintrust at the RBC Capital Markets Global Financial Institutions Conference, transcript)
- Wintrust Financial Corporation Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025
- Macatawa Conversion Weekend - April 25 - 28, 2025
- Employee feedback spurs AI innovation at Wintrust
- Mike Ryan, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer
- Wintrust Financial Corporation (WTFC) Q2 FY2026 earnings call transcript
- Insurance Banking Rundown
- Wintrust Financial Corporation 2026 Proxy Statement (DEF 14A)
- Form 4 filed by James V. Lentino, SVP and Chief Risk Officer, Wintrust Financial Corporation
- Wintrust Financial Corporation Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2026
- Wintrust (WTFC) Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript
- Wintrust Financial Corporation to Present at RBC Capital Markets Global Financial Institutions Conference on March 10, 2026
- Wintrust Financial Corporation Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024
- Wintrust Financial Corporation Appoints Two Members to Board of Directors
- Wintrust Financial Corporation Completes Its Merger With Macatawa Bank Corporation
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