Banks are processing transactions in a very different world from the one their core systems were originally built for. Payments, treasury and securities workflows now depend on cloud platforms, third-party providers, external services and cross-border infrastructure, which means sensitive data is constantly moving between more systems, teams and jurisdictions.
Transaction processing is mission-critical, so sensitive data needs to move quickly enough to keep the business running. Security controls that add friction, reduce performance or require heavy operational workarounds quickly become a barrier to modernisation. Yet every additional system, partner and jurisdiction creates another point where access, masking, encryption and compliance must be managed.
At the same time, the need to protect data has never been greater. Across frameworks such as GDPR, PCI, FATF and jurisdiction-specific requirements, banks are under increasing pressure to protect sensitive data throughout its lifecycle, limit access appropriately and maintain control as data moves between systems and borders.
This leaves banks facing a difficult balance: they need stronger data protection, but cannot afford to slow down mission-critical operations.
Aquila Fort, developed by Aqua Global in partnership with eXate, is designed to solve that problem.
Aquila Fort brings policy-driven data protection into the Aquila platform, helping banks apply fine-grained encryption, dynamic masking and access controls directly into transaction workflows. The aim is to give banks stronger control over sensitive customer and financial data without compromising the performance and automation their operations depend on.
Protect data at the point of use
The important shift is from protecting whole systems to protecting the sensitive data inside them. Aquila Fort allows banks to apply protection at field level, so sensitive personal or financial information can be encrypted or masked while the rest of the transaction remains usable. That means teams can continue to process, investigate and manage transactions without unnecessary exposure to data they do not need.
This is especially important across operational teams. A customer service user, operations analyst, compliance team and administrator may all need access to the same workflow, but not the same information. Aquila Fort helps tailor visibility to the user’s role and responsibility, reducing unnecessary access while keeping processes moving.
Make protection adaptable
Banking requirements change constantly. New regulations, jurisdictions, internal policies and customer expectations all affect how data should be handled. Aquila Fort gives banks the ability to update policies as requirements evolve, rather than hard-coding protections into individual systems or relying on manual workarounds. Protection can be applied to newly ingested data and historical data already held within the system, helping banks strengthen control without disrupting operations.
This matters because transaction modernisation is not a one-off project. Banks need data protection that can adapt as infrastructure, regulation and business models change.
Bring governance into the transaction flow
Aquila Fort has been developed through Aqua Global’s partnership with eXate, combining Aquila’s transaction orchestration capabilities with eXate’s policy-driven data privacy, governance and access control technology.
The result is protection that sits inside the Aquila transaction lifecycle, rather than around the edges. Sensitive data can be controlled as it is ingested, processed, distributed and stored by Aquila.
For banks, this creates a more consistent way to manage sensitive data within Aquila-powered workflows. It brings policy-driven protection directly into the transaction process while supporting the performance and automation modern banking operations depend on.
Protect without slowing the business
The goal of Aquila Fort is not to make financial data harder to use; it is to make it safer to use. Banks need to modernise transaction processing, meet regulatory expectations and reduce operational risk. But they also need high-performance systems that can support day-to-day banking activity without unnecessary friction.
Aquila Fort brings those priorities together: fine-grained data protection, role-based visibility, dynamic policy control and high-performance transaction processing.
For banks, the benefit is simple. Sensitive data stays protected as it moves through the transaction lifecycle, while teams still have the access they need to keep payments, treasury and securities operations running.
