CLS and Kyndryl Complete Major Infrastructure Modernization for Global FX Settlement

CLS has completed a major migration of its core infrastructure to a new data center environment in partnership with Kyndryl. For fintech professionals, this move by a systemically important financial market infrastructure (SIFMI) underscores the industry-wide shift toward modernized, resilient foundations capable of handling the immense volume and security demands of the global foreign exchange market.

What was announced

The migration is a central pillar of CLS’s multi-year technology modernization program. It transitions the organization’s critical settlement, processing, and data solutions to a new technology environment designed to enhance security, operational flexibility, and resilience. As a SIFMI, CLS operates under rigorous regulatory and validation standards; the migration program required extensive planning and validation at every stage to ensure no disruption to the global foreign exchange ecosystem.

The new environment supports CLSSettlement, a payment-versus-payment system that mitigates systemic risk in the settlement of the world’s most actively traded currencies. The scale of this infrastructure is significant: CLS is utilized by more than 75 of the world’s leading financial institutions as settlement members, with over 38,000 additional organizations relying on its services. By moving to this modernized foundation, CLS aims to better support future growth and evolving market requirements.

Kyndryl provided the infrastructure services and technical expertise for the project, drawing on its experience in managing mission-critical enterprise technology. The successful completion of this milestone is intended to provide a modernized operational foundation that can adapt to the increasing complexity of the global cyberthreat landscape while maintaining the high standards required of a critical financial market infrastructure.

"As a critical financial market infrastructure, resilience is fundamental to everything we do. Completing this milestone further strengthens the foundation of our services and positions us to continue delivering the operational resilience, security and reliability our settlement members expect. This achievement also reflects the strength of our collaboration with Kyndryl throughout the program."

Tom Barkhuff, Chief Information Officer, CLS.

The companies involved

CLS, a financial market infrastructure group, occupies a unique position at the heart of the foreign exchange market. It provides settlement, processing, and data solutions that are essential for the stability of global finance. By operating the world’s largest multicurrency settlement system, CLS effectively eliminates settlement risk for its members, which include the world's largest banks and financial institutions. The organization has been a frequent subject of industry analysis, with ten previous reports by FF News highlighting its role in global FX governance and market stability.

Kyndryl, a provider of IT infrastructure services, was spun off from IBM and has since established itself as a major player in managing complex, mission-critical environments for the financial services sector. Listed on the NYSE under the ticker KD, the firm specializes in security, resiliency, and cloud services. Kyndryl’s involvement in this project leverages its deep industry expertise, which has been documented across six previous FF News stories. The company frequently collaborates with major technology providers to deliver modernized foundations for legacy financial institutions and large-scale market infrastructures.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has closely followed the strategic developments of both organizations. Recently, we covered how Kyndryl, Incore Bank, and Google Cloud Automate Bank KYC with Gemini Agentic AI, showcasing the firm's move toward advanced automation. In the FX space, we reported on how CLS Strengthens Global FX Governance with Six Strategic Board Appointments to bolster its leadership.

Kyndryl’s broader influence in the financial sector was also highlighted when Kyndryl Unveils Banking and Financial Industry Services for Google Cloud Customers. Additionally, the company's long-term service capabilities were evidenced when Kyndryl Signs 7-Year agreement with Legal & General, further cementing its role as a primary infrastructure partner for major financial entities.

What this means

This migration signals a critical shift for systemically important infrastructures that have traditionally been tethered to legacy hardware. By modernizing its data center environment, CLS is addressing the mounting pressure from regulators and market participants for heightened operational resilience in the face of sophisticated cyberthreats. The move places other market infrastructures under scrutiny; those still operating on aging architecture may find it increasingly difficult to justify their risk profiles. The central question for the sector now is how quickly other SIFMIs can execute similar transformations without disrupting the delicate balance of global liquidity and settlement.