Danske expands AWS deal to build AI customer services

Danske Bank has extended its agreement with Amazon Web Services to develop generative AI customer services and modernise its IT systems. The partnership began in 2024 and the first phase created cloud and data foundations plus a migration platform for legacy applications.

The expanded deal, announced as part of Danske’s Forward ’28 strategy, brings AWS cloud, AI and engineering resources into the next stage of the bank’s digital work. The bank plans to accelerate the development of customer-facing digital services using generative AI models and related tooling.

Amazon Bedrock and Bedrock AgentCore will be used to power AI-enabled services. Amazon positions Bedrock as a managed machine learning platform that offers access to foundation models, tools for building generative AI applications, and infrastructure to scale from experimentation to production.

Tanuja Randery, managing director of EMEA at AWS, noted: “Danske Bank will have access to hundreds of AI models, enterprise-grade data protection, and a fully managed platform that scales from experimentation to production.” The bank said the collaboration will strengthen its cloud and data foundations and optimise how technology is developed and delivered.

Frans Woelders, chief operating officer at Danske Bank, observed: “We are already seeing the benefits in how we develop the products and services our customers want, and I expect that value to grow further.” The bank said it will increase co-innovation with AWS after coordinated work on the migration platform.

Danske and AWS intend to move projects from pilot stages into production using AWS engineering teams alongside Bedrock model access. The bank plans to focus on features that change how customers interact with banking products while maintaining enterprise-grade controls.

Industry figures show rising AI adoption in banking. A 2025 survey of financial institutions found 59% of banks reported AI-driven productivity gains in the prior 12 months, up from 32% a year earlier. Consultancy analysis has estimated AI could reduce operating costs by up to 20% but noted wider competitive effects could affect industry profits over time.

Other financial firms are also expanding cloud partnerships to deploy generative AI. Earlier this month, mortgage lender Pennymac extended its AWS agreement to apply GenAI tools to mortgage processes. Danske framed its extended agreement as part of its long-term digital strategy and said it will continue coordinated development with AWS to move tested AI initiatives into live services while keeping regulatory and data protections in place.