NatWest Announces New Five-Year AI Partnership with Accenture and AWS

NatWest Group has announced a five‑year collaboration with Amazon Web Services and consultancy Accenture designed to modernise the bank’s data, analytics and artificial‑intelligence capabilities. Executives described the 23 July deal as a decisive step towards simpler, faster and more personalised banking for the lender’s 20 million customers.

NatWest Group has announced a five‑year collaboration with Amazon Web Services and consultancy Accenture designed to modernise the bank’s data, analytics and artificial‑intelligence capabilities. NatWest GroupannouncedAmazon Web ServicesAccenturePaul Thwaite, NatWest Group CEO, said: “This collaboration with Accenture and AWS is key to helping us progress the transformation of NatWest as we become a simpler, more technology and data-driven bank.”

Paul Thwaite**NatWest Group C## New alliance will consolidate data and quicken decision‑making

Under the agreement, AWS will provide cloud infrastructure and machine‑learning tools, while Accenture will steer migration of hundreds of disparate data stores to a single platform and embed governance aligned with UK regulation. Julie Sweet, Chair and CEO of Accenture, said the programme would “tie together products, channels and customer touchpoints” in a way that makes banking easier and “increases efficiency, drives productivity and creates value”.

Julie SweetChairCEOAccentureMatt Garman, CEO of AWS, added that: “Using AWS’s deep and extensive experience in financial services technology, NatWest is setting new standards in banking as a more agile, customer-focused bank”.

Matt GarmanCEOAWS## Faster service and sharper fraud detection for customers

Bank insiders expect tangible benefits to appear quickly. Digital verification should shorten current‑account onboarding from several days to minutes, while combining transaction histories with call‑centre transcripts is projected to cut fraud‑detection times from days to hours. Cora, NatWest’s virtual assistant, will gain real‑time insights to nudge customers towards budget‑friendly actions and timely product choices.

CoraThe bank also plans to give relationship managers a consolidated customer view that allows them to anticipate needs and tailor advice. In parallel, the new platform is expected to streamline mortgage repricing and small‑business lending decisions by automating policy checks and document flows.

Skills drive and safeguards accompany the technology push

Thousands of staff across risk, finance and front‑office functions will receive training in data literacy, generative‑AI prompting and cloud security so that they can exploit the new tools responsibly. Every model built on the platform must pass NatWest’s AI and Data Ethics Code of Conduct, which demands fairness, explainability and privacy compliance.

Improved data quality should strengthen capital allocation, stress testing and statutory reporting. These areas are under increasing scrutiny from domestic and international regulators as banks place more core workloads in the public cloud. NatWest says retaining key controls in-house and adopting a multi‑provider strategy will help mitigate concentration risk.

Competitive pressure mounts as incumbents race to modernise

Traditional UK banks face growing competition from digital‑only players such as Monzo and Revolut, whose app‑based services set a high bar for speed and personalisation. Rivals Lloyds and Barclays have already announced multibillion‑pound cloud programmes, and industry‑wide investment in generative‑AI pilots is rising.

Analysts estimate that NatWest’s overhaul could cost several hundred million pounds, though the bank did not disclose financial terms. Management argues that automation and simplified processes will generate lasting efficiency gains, freeing staff for higher-value work and improving returns on equity.

Conclusion

NatWest’s partnership with AWS and Accenture aims to rebuild the bank’s data foundations, speed new product delivery and offer customers more timely, personalised support. Senior leaders believe the combination of cloud scale, AI expertise and staff upskilling will make NatWest leaner and more competitive, yet the project’s success will depend on disciplined execution and careful management of regulatory and cloud‑dependency risks.