2026 FinTech Predictions: Insights from Jamil Jiva of Linedata

I spoke with Jamil, Global Head of Asset Management at Linedata, a global provider of software, services and value-added data dedicated to the financial sector.

With over 25 years of experience helping asset managers, institutional investors, and financial institutions navigate technological transformation, Jamil shares his view on the shifts that will define the financial services landscape in 2026.

Over to you Jamil - my questions are in bold:

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

In 2026, generative AI will reach a capability threshold where it can be truly scaled, providing lightning-fast compliance and hyper-personalised financial products.

AI and machine learning will deeply automate compliance processes. AI will inevitably boost efficiency, handling high volumes of data that would otherwise demand tedious manual review, and enabling near-instantaneous Know Your Customer (KYC) / Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks that are invisible to the end user. This evolution will reshape the customer experience and security, combining seamlessness with regulatory requirements.

Beyond this, AI will also enable the emergence of hyper-personalised financial products, designed and adapted in real time to the needs, preferences, and aspirations of each investor. From product recommendations to customised fraud detection and tailored financial planning, artificial intelligence will be at everyone's service. The customer relationship will be profoundly transformed, offering a customised and evolving experience.

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

Asset tokenisation is set to lead a revolution in liquidity, supporting borderless investment by eliminating operational and structural frictions.

The retailisation of Private Equity (PE) is often described as some nascent future, yet tokenisation will transform financial markets, making each PE stake and investment more liquid, more easily divisible, and more accessible.

As institutional adoption grows, we will see the emergence of a world where asset ownership and trading are simplified, broadening access to new investor profiles and creating much more dynamic markets.

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

The biggest challenge for banks and financial services firms is that customer expectations are now shaped by digital-first fintech platforms rather than traditional banking infrastructure. Clients expect real time access to accurate data, seamless API integration with their own systems, and far less operational friction.

When fragmented data causes delays, errors or manual workarounds, it's no longer seen as a back-office problem but as a failure of service. The pressure to deliver speed, transparency and lower costs at the same time is forcing firms to rethink their data foundations in 2026.

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

Explainable AI will become a decisive criterion for trust among customers, regulators and investors in 2026 - enabling the understanding, justification, and control of every automated decision. As a result, financial institutions can no longer solely rely on high performing 'black boxes': they will be required to explain why a model rejects a loan, triggers a fraud alert, or recommends one portfolio over another. Too few financial institutions have answers to questions around AI explainability as we kick off the new year.

Achieving transparency will require the implementation of genuine "chains of accountability" for AI: dedicated governance, systematic documentation of models, traceability of the data used, and dashboards for monitoring biases, performance, and potential deviations. However, some firms can benefit from this blind spot around AI transparency if they can do better than their peers and differentiate themselves. The most advanced players will combine these explainability building blocks with enhanced human oversight to transform transparency from a constraint into an opportunity.

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

Banking leaders should focus on unleashing the power of their customer data and so augmenting the impact of their financial products.

This year, open banking, combined with the instant availability of data "as a service", will foster the emergence of an even more open, fluid, and interconnected financial ecosystem. Shared and collaborative innovation will become the norm - the result of industry players' ability to access information in an agile and secure manner.

To fuel growth in the coming years, leaders must focus on building upon this foundation of trust to scale open banking and generate new, augmented financial systems where data circulates as a shared asset. By creating an explicit ethical framework, where every citizen actively agrees to share their data because they understand the value they derive from it, control their consent, and benefit from transparent protections, will be the real breakthrough for financial services – if firms can pull it off.

Thank you Jamil! You can connect with Jamil on his LinkedIn Profile and find out more about the company at www.linedata.com.