Arion Bank Partners with Volante Technologies to Modernize Payments Infrastructure and Fortify Regulatory Compliance
In a strategic move to accelerate its digital transformation and regulatory readiness, Arion Bank, one of Iceland’s premier financial institutions, has entered into a partnership with Volante Technologies, the global leader in Payments as a Service (PaaS). The collaboration aims to future-proof the bank’s payment systems, strengthen its compliance with evolving regulations, and enhance its operational agility amid increasing transaction volumes and an expanding client base.
As the financial services sector continues to evolve at a rapid pace, driven by technological innovation and stringent regulatory demands, financial institutions worldwide are under pressure to modernize legacy infrastructures. Arion Bank’s decision to adopt Volante’s cloud-native, API-driven payments platform signals a significant milestone in its journey toward becoming a more agile and digitally forward-thinking institution.
Arion Bank: A Leader in Iceland’s Financial Landscape
Arion Bank ranks among the top three financial institutions in Iceland by assets. With a strong presence in retail, corporate, and investment banking, the bank offers a comprehensive range of financial products and services tailored to meet the needs of individuals, small businesses, and large corporations.
Known for its emphasis on innovation, customer experience, and operational resilience, Arion Bank has built a reputation for leveraging technology to streamline services and improve financial outcomes for its clients. However, as regulatory frameworks such as the European Union’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) and payment modernization standards like ISO 20022 come into effect, the need for a scalable and modern payments infrastructure has become more urgent.
A Strategic Leap Toward Payments Modernization
To stay ahead of these industry shifts, Arion Bank set out to revamp its payments hub with a focus on agility, compliance, and future growth. The bank’s leadership recognized that merely upgrading its legacy systems would not be sufficient. Instead, they sought a forward-looking solution capable of supporting real-time, multi-rail payment processing and seamlessly integrating with next-generation financial ecosystems.
This led Arion Bank to partner with Volante Technologies—a company renowned for delivering cutting-edge, cloud-based payment solutions to financial institutions across the globe. Volante’s Payments as a Service platform is designed to simplify the complexity of payments modernization by offering a modular, API-enabled architecture that can be tailored to each client’s unique requirements.
Meeting Regulatory Mandates: DORA and CBPR+
A major driver behind Arion Bank’s move was the need to comply with the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), which is set to reshape how financial institutions manage digital risk across the European Union. Although Iceland is not a member of the EU, it often aligns with EU regulations through the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement, meaning that DORA will have significant implications for Icelandic banks.
In addition to DORA, Arion Bank is preparing for the implementation of CBPR+—a harmonized cross-border payment messaging format based on the ISO 20022 standard. The CBPR+ deadline of November 2025 has become a key milestone for financial institutions worldwide as they transition from legacy SWIFT MT messages to more data-rich ISO 20022 formats.
By adopting Volante’s PaaS solution, Arion Bank ensures not only compliance with these regulatory standards but also the ability to leverage the benefits of enhanced data, improved interoperability, and greater transparency across payment channels.
Preparing for SEPA Instant Payments
Another core element of the partnership is the readiness for SEPA Instant Payments (SEPA IP), which are expected to become a regulatory mandate across Europe in the coming years. While SEPA IP adoption in Iceland is still in its early stages, the move toward real-time payments is inevitable as global customer expectations evolve.
Volante’s cloud-native solution offers native support for SEPA IP, providing Arion Bank with a platform that is not only compliant with today’s standards but also adaptable to future payment innovations. This positions the bank to meet growing demand for faster, more secure transactions while enhancing its service offerings to both retail and business customers.
Executive Insights: Strategic Alignment and Agility
Commenting on the partnership, Björn Björnsson, Chief Information Officer at Arion Bank, emphasized the strategic alignment between the two organizations.
“We needed a partner who could provide both the technology and guidance to help us navigate the complexities of evolving regulatory standards,” Björnsson said. “Volante is a strong fit for our strategic objectives. As the partnership progresses, Arion Bank will explore additional ways to leverage Volante’s innovative technology stack.”
Björnsson also highlighted the value of Volante’s modular approach. The platform’s component-based architecture allows Arion Bank to deploy and scale services at its own pace, which is especially beneficial in Iceland’s comparatively small and agile financial market.
“The modular, component-based design of Volante’s PaaS allows us to adapt quickly to changes and launch new services efficiently,” he added. “This agility gives us a significant competitive edge.”
A Trusted Partner in Payments Modernization
From Volante’s perspective, the partnership with Arion Bank is a testament to its growing presence in the European financial technology landscape and its commitment to enabling modernization at scale.
“We are delighted to partner with Arion Bank, a leader in Iceland’s banking sector,” said Deepak Gupta, Executive Vice President of Product, Engineering, and Services at Volante Technologies. “From the beginning, it was evident that Arion Bank understood the value we deliver beyond our cloud payments technology.”
Gupta stressed that Volante’s role goes beyond providing a platform—it involves acting as a trusted strategic partner, supporting the bank’s goals across compliance, innovation, and operational efficiency.
“We will continue to serve the organization throughout its modernization journey,” he added, “ensuring that Arion Bank can meet its business goals, strengthen its compliance posture, and remain adaptive to future changes in the financial services industry.”
Future-Proofing the Payment Landscape
As financial institutions contend with rapid changes—from real-time payments and open banking to increasingly complex regulatory landscapes—partnerships like the one between Arion Bank and Volante Technologies are critical.
This collaboration is not just about technological upgrade; it represents a broader strategic vision. It highlights the importance of digital agility, customer-centric innovation, and proactive compliance. For Arion Bank, the transformation marks a step toward establishing itself as a digital leader within Iceland and the broader Nordic region.
With Volante’s support, the bank is not only modernizing its payments infrastructure but also laying a foundation for long-term growth, resilience, and market leadership.
