2026 FinTech Predictions: Insights from Griffin Parry of m3ter

We spoke with Griffin Parry, CEO and Founder of m3ter, the leading provider of data infrastructure enabling usage-based pricing for large and mid-sized software companies.

With deep expertise in cloud architecture and pricing systems, Griffin shares his perspective on the trends that will shape financial services over the coming year.

Over to you Griffin - my questions are in bold:

What's the biggest shift you expect across financial services in 2026?

I suspect most people will give the same answer: AI-powered operations. While the past few years have been marked by experimentation, 2026 will be the year AI becomes deeply embedded in core workflows and products. This shift goes beyond simple automation - it will fundamentally transform customer experiences through personalisation, predictive analytics, and autonomous decision systems.

Which emerging technology will have the most practical impact on banks and the FinTechs that support them?

The obvious answers are AI and blockchain, but I'll also call out cloud because that's my background. The ongoing shift to modern cloud-native architectures among incumbents is unlocking the sector's potential - enabling faster innovation, at lower cost, and at greater scale

What customer behaviours or expectations will most challenge banks and financial service providers?

Individual consumers expect 'consumerised' tech. Customers don't compare banking apps to other banking apps, they compare them to the best apps, full stop. They want intuitive UX, real-time access, easy onboarding, and consistent context across channels. That's a real challenge for legacy providers, particularly with agile new entrants snapping at their heels.

What risks or blind spots do you think the industry is underestimating as we move into 2026?

There's some innovation underway around pricing models, and the blind spot is about the operational challenges associated with this. Pricing is 50% strategy, 50% systems, and companies too often forget about the latter. This is m3ter's wheelhouse. Our customers are transitioning to usage-based pricing models and need their existing quote-to-cash systems to handle the complexity effectively. Without the right infrastructure, they face significant challenges: billing errors, revenue leakage, and inability to adapt pricing strategies quickly. m3ter is invisible infrastructure that makes that possible – usage data processing, advanced rating, and automation of data flows around the stack.

If you were advising a bank's leadership team today, what strategic priority should they focus on to stay competitive in 2026 and beyond?

You need to be able to industrialise AI at scale because that's where the real productivity and product gains lie. But here's the counterintuitive part: slow down first. Ensure your cloud architecture is truly modern before going all-in on AI. It may feel like a delay, but companies with solid foundations move faster and further when it counts.

Thank you Griffin! You can connect with Griffin on his LinkedIn Profile and find out more about the company at https://www.m3ter.com.