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Platform economics

The economics of owning your platform.

SBT uses the open-source software model: you own the deployed technology. Annual subscription covers updates, compliance patches, new integrations, and support. No per-transaction fees. No margin compression as you grow.

Commercial model

Own your technology. Subscribe to evolution.

Red Hat didn’t invent open-source software. Red Hat created an economics model: companies own the deployed software, and they subscribe to support, updates, and new capabilities. SBT uses the same model.

You deploy SBT. You own the deployed platform. Your bank controls the roadmap, the timeline, the architecture. The subscription covers what changes over time: platform updates, regulatory compliance patches, new integrations, and production support.

You Own

  • The deployed platform
  • Source code access
  • All customizations

You Subscribe

  • Platform updates
  • Compliance patches
  • New integrations
  • Production support

You Control

  • Your roadmap
  • Your margin structure
  • Your data
ModelOwnershipScaling EconomicsLong-Term CostRisk
SBT (Own + Subscribe)Bank ownsFixed annual subscriptionLower as you growVendor support risk
SaaS Banking PlatformsVendor ownsPer-transaction or per-account feesHigher as you growMargin compression, vendor lock-in
Consulting EngagementBank owns (custom build)Variable (maintenance + new features)Higher (custom engineering cost)Technical debt, hiring risk
Legacy + MaintainBank owns (aging)Variable (aging system becomes expensive)Rapidly increasingTechnology obsolescence
Total cost of ownership

The 5-year math.

Total cost of ownership over a five-year horizon for a mid-size commercial bank.

Deploy SBT

Platform license (Year 1)$500K–$800K
Annual subscription (Year 2–5)$200K/year
Internal resource cost$300K

5-year total

~$2M–$2.5M

Bank owns the platform. Can be extended or modified. No per-transaction fees.

Hire a System Integrator

Project cost (12–18 months)$4–6M
Maintenance (Year 2–5)$100K/year

5-year total

~$4.4M–$6.4M

Bank owns custom build. Technical debt accumulates. Difficult to find engineers who understand it.

Maintain Legacy Systems

Year 1–2 maintenance$150K/year
Year 3–5 (aging costs)$300–400K/year
Emergency replacement (Year 4)$2–3M

5-year total

~$1.5M–$4.5M

Highly variable. Increasing operational risk. No modern capabilities.

Value by institution size

Scales with your institution.

$10B+ assets

Large banks

SBT saves millions vs. a consulting project. A system integrator quotes $5–7M and 12–18 months. SBT costs a fraction of that and deploys in weeks.

$1–10B assets

Mid-size banks

Eliminates the risk of a multi-year integration project. A complete, modern platform without the organizational burden of managing an extended SI engagement.

$100M–$1B assets

Smaller banks

The value shifts to speed and completeness. SBT includes capabilities you’d never justify building in a consulting project. A platform that grows with you.

Launching new operations

Neo-banks & license-holders

The only rational option. A consulting project ($4–6M, 18+ months) is not realistic on a launch timeline. SBT gets you live in weeks at a fraction of the cost.

Network economics

Model the network effect.

One bank with ten products active generates a certain revenue profile. Ten banks on the network generate ten times that, plus a network multiplier from inter-bank settlement fees. The franchise value is not one bank. It is the network.

10
150
5
123

Projected annual network revenue

$332.0M/yr

Revenue by product

Stablecoin Issuance$158.1M/yr
Lombard Lending$63.2M/yr
Settlement Network$56.9M/yr
Cross-Border Payouts$37.9M/yr
Qualified Custody$15.8M/yr

Projections are illustrative and based on assumptions described in our economic model. Actual results may differ materially.

Settlement network

Settlement network effects.

Stablecoin banking is only valuable if multiple banks can settle directly. A single bank’s stablecoin infrastructure is isolated. A network of compatible banks is a settlement system. Every bank that deploys SBT becomes a node in that network.

1

deployment

Valuable infrastructure for a single institution.

10

deployments

Correspondent relationships. Direct settlement between banks.

100

deployments

A settlement network with real cost advantages over traditional correspondent banking.

Settlement infrastructure is table stakes. SBT runs the bank.

The market has validated stablecoin infrastructure as a multi-billion-dollar category. But settlement infrastructure is only one layer. The operational infrastructure a bank needs around those settlements — compliance procedures, KYB orchestration, client applications, payment hub, regulatory reporting — is the layer SBT provides. Settlement moves money. SBT runs the bank.

Annual subscription

What’s included.

The annual subscription is not open-ended. It covers what changes over time.

Platform Updates

New features, bug fixes, performance improvements. Released quarterly.

Regulatory Compliance Patches

When regulatory requirements change, we release patches that update the operational layer. Deploy patches, not hire engineers.

New Payment Rail Integration

New local schemes, real-time payment networks, stablecoin settlement. Evaluated and scoped per request.

Production Support

24/7 support for production issues, escalation paths, dedicated support engineer for each deployment.

Security Patches

Quarterly security updates. Emergency patches for critical issues.

Compliance Library Updates

As new jurisdictions deploy SBT, the compliance library grows. Procedures are shared across the network.

Not included: feature development for custom requirements, custom integrations, and custom compliance procedures specific to a single bank. These are scoped separately.

Detailed scenarios

Two worked examples showing cost breakdowns for large and smaller institutions.

Detailed example: $50B commercial bank.

A $50B commercial bank processes ~$2 trillion in annual transactions. The operational layer is mission-critical.

Cost of consulting project

SI engagement cost$6M–$8M
Timeline18–24 months
Custom integration (internal)$1–2M

Total: $7–10M, plus 2 years of execution risk

Cost of SBT

Initial platform license$800K
Configuration & integration$500K
Annual subscription (Year 2+)$300K/year

Year 1: $1.3M. Year 2–5: $300K/year. 5-year total: $2.5M.

Savings: $4–7M over 5 years

Elimination of multi-year SI risk, plus faster time to market. Zero vendor lock-in. Bank owns the platform.

Detailed example: $500M commercial bank.

A $500M commercial bank has limited engineering resources and operates on tighter margins.

Cost of consulting project

SI engagement cost$2–4M
Timeline12–18 months
Custom integration (internal)$300K

Total: $2.3–4.3M, plus 12–18 months of execution risk

Cost of SBT

Initial platform license$600K
Configuration & integration$200K
Annual subscription (Year 2+)$200K/year

Year 1: $800K. Year 2–5: $200K/year. 5-year total: $1.6M.

Savings: $700K–$2.7M over 5 years

Launch on a complete platform — client application, compliance tooling, payment orchestration, stablecoin infrastructure — that you would never justify building in-house.

Engagement models

How to engage with SBT.

SBT can be deployed with different engagement models depending on your situation. All models result in bank ownership of the deployed platform.

Preferred, Mambu banks

Direct Deployment

  • You have a Mambu core system selected or operational
  • SBT handles integration and platform configuration
  • Your internal team handles onboarding, testing, go-live planning
Timeline4–8 weeks
CostPlatform license + configuration support

Other core systems

Consulting Engagement

  • You have a core system other than Mambu
  • SBT and your technical team scope the integration
  • Your team or a local SI executes integration
Timeline8–12 weeks
CostPlatform license + integration support fees

Optional

Managed Service Option

  • SBT handles operations, monitoring, and maintenance post-launch
  • Your bank focuses on customer operations
  • All platform management and compliance updates handled
TimelineOngoing
CostPlatform license + subscription + managed service fee
Deployment timeline

How fast can you deploy?

Select your core banking system to see estimated weeks to go-live with SBT.

Estimated time to go-live

8–12 weeks

Production

Model this for your bank.

Pricing depends on bank size, core system, regulatory jurisdiction, and deployment scope. A 30-minute conversation with our team will clarify what SBT costs for your specific situation.