Truist saw significant increases across its digital portfolio in the third quarter with 58% growth in Zelle use over the same time last year. The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank also completed a major phase of a core conversion from legacy systems to Truist’s own core.

Technology was a key talking point for Chief Executive Officer Bill Rogers during today’s Q3 earnings call.

“We migrated 7 million clients to the new Truist digital banking experience, which includes enhanced digital investment and money management capabilities, personalized insights and a holistic personal financial management tool,” Rogers said.

Zelle transactions grew to 38.3 million year to date, compared to 24.3 million one year ago. Zelle is a digital payments network owned by Early Warning Services, a fintech owned by $530 billion Truist, $3.1 trillion Bank of America, $425.2 billion Capital One, $3.7 trillion JPMorgan Chase, $554.2 billion PNC Bank, $558.9 billion U.S. Bancorp and $1.9 trillion Wells Fargo.

Mobile banking and mobile check deposits also grew, 11% and 17%, sequentially, YTD. Digital commerce also grew 5% to 530,000 users YTD.

During the earnings call, Truist reported net income of $1.6 billion, up 51% compared with Q3 2020. Taxable-equivalent revenue was $5.6 billion, which was up 2.3% compared with Q3 2020.

A new ecosystem

Truist was formed in 2019 when BB&T and SunTrust Banks merged, and Rogers noted there was significant integration and migration work done this past quarter.

Rogers boasted that his team completed a major phase of its core banking system conversion last weekend, moving heritage BB&T core systems to Truist’s own core banking platform without shutting down business operations, saying such a major conversion was a first, to his knowledge.

“After a lot of intense deliberate, thoughtful and purposeful preparation by our team, we were able to stand up the Truist technology ecosystem and migrate all heritage BB&T retail wealth and business clients to it,” Rogers said. As of Tuesday, more than 2,500 heritage BB&T employees were able to log on to the new Truist commercial lending ecosystem for the first time, he noted.

“Because of the conversion, the Salesforce client management and sales pipeline system is now directly connected to the nCino lending origination system, which allows for better communication and workflow across the deal team and visibility of progress of the loan all in one place,” Rogers said. “These upgrades also lay the foundation for future digital innovation” such as the new Truist Ready Now digital loan, a small-dollar lending solution for customers who need emergency funds between $100 and $1,000.

The conversion places the bank on “excellent footing for the final conversion and the first quarter of 2022,” when inherited customers from SunTrust will transition to the Truist ecosystem, Rogers added.

The bank also upgraded its ATM contact center and digital payment capabilities in areas such as additional clients self-service, improved authentication and operational simplification, Rogers said.

These software-specific projects may have contributed to Truist’s rising software spend of $251 million — $30 million more than Q3 2020. Other technology spend may be incorporated in categories such as professional fees and outside processing, which was $372 million in Q3, or possibly equipment expense, which was $154 million in Q3, however this level of detail was not included in the Q3 earnings report.

Truist stock [NYSE: TFC] were trading at $61.34 at market close, up 1.15% from market open.