2026 FinTech Predictions: Industry Leaders Share Their Outlook
32 industry leaders from 32 companies share their outlook on what's ahead for fintech, banking, and financial services in 2026.
Jump to: 🤖 Agentic AI (12) | 🚀 Digital Transformation (10) | 📋 RegTech & Compliance (4) | 💰 Stablecoins & Digital Assets (3) | 🏦 Digital Banking (1) | ⚛️ Quantum Computing (1) | 💳 Payments (1)
🤖 Agentic AI
"Financial institutions are shifting toward AI systems that don't just generate content, but actively support decision intelligence across anti-money laundering, know your customer, fraud, credit and risk operations. Agentic AI will be transformative because it acts as a smarter orchestration engine that assembles multiple techniques to solve complex problems. Agent-based systems will increasingly handle data gathering, evidence collection, triage and multi-step analysis, freeing analysts to focus on value-driven tasks and decision making rather than admin."
Alexon Bell , Chief Product Officer for Fincrime & KYC at Quantexa
"Agentic AI will have a very practical impact for banks and fintechs. There will be auditable AI agents embedded directly into core banking workflows. This will mean more consistent, durable, and efficient operations."
Herman Man , Chief Product Officer at Bluevine
"In 2026, agentic AI will begin reshaping the dynamics between platforms, users and the payment flows that sit behind them. Rather than customers initiating every action, machine agents will increasingly orchestrate journeys on their behalf. And as these agents begin to influence buying decisions, businesses may face new acquisition costs and will need to optimise for AI-driven referral economics."
Alex Taylor , UK Managing Director at Mangopay
"In 2026, we will see many of these institutions take a leap of faith, transitioning from proof of concepts to full AI rollouts. Instead of only seeing the small scale productivity gains that come with single point solutions or limited use cases, institutions taking the leap into broader AI use cases in the new year will see the true value AI can create."
Rishi Chohan , CEO U.S.A at GFT
"In 2026, I suspect organisations will start to realise digital transformation is not just a project that you can tick off a list. We'll see organisations breaking down the old silos between product, risk, compliance and tech. Data that used to be stuck in different systems will be connected, giving a single live view of customers and operations."
Boris Bialek , Field CTO at MongoDB
"The biggest shift in 2026 will be the move from fragmented AI pilots to platform driven execution. Boards and executives, growing impatient, are now asking directly: what value are we actually getting?"
Mallory Beaudreau , RVP – Account Management, EMEA at Apptio, an IBM Company
"The accelerating adoption and operationalisation of AI (particularly generative AI and agentic AI) that reconfigures customer interactions, product models and operating models - coupled with platformication (composable digital banking platforms, marketplaces and ecosystem models) and geopolitically driven sourcing changes - is the single most significant shift expected across financial services in 2026."
Ben Goldin , Founder & CEO at Plumery B.V.
"Banks and NBFIs will shift from traditional transaction-led models to holistic money-management platforms designed for mass-affluent and upper-mass-affluent customers. Instead of simply enabling payments or deposits, institutions will compete on their ability to help customers plan, grow and optimise their wealth through personalised, AI-driven financial tooling."
Pierre Legrand , Managing Director of Digital Financial Services at Alvarez & Marsal
"AI continues to become more sophisticated where it is often difficult to determine what is human generated versus what is computer-generated. This coming year is going to accelerate the usage of AI for nefarious purposes, and the financial services industry is going to have to ramp up its adoption and use cases at unprecedented levels to not fall further behind in the financial crime battle."
Becki LaPorte , Principal – AML Strategy & Innovation at FinScan
"There is so much more work that needs to be done to map out and analyse processes and understand how they will be transformed, and then work to manage successfully through that change."
Steve Morgan , Global Banking Industry Lead at Pegasystems
"2026 will be the year of bifurcation. There will be those institutions that continue on the technology side to introduce more novel solutions but could risk to detrimentally impact resilience and operational stability. And there will be those that will try to find ways to slow down certain processes to be able to regain more control in the fight against financial crime and fraud."
Dr. Ruth Wandhöfer , Chair at Blackwired
"2026 is the year agentic transformation moves from concept to core reality in financial services. We're seeing banks and asset managers deploy autonomous AI agents that handle complex workflows like credit risk assessment, trade settlement, compliance monitoring, and personalised wealth advice. These aren't just chatbots or assistants anymore; they're digital colleagues operating within governance frameworks and ethical boundaries."
Dave Murphy , Head of Financial Services EMEA & APAC at Publicis Sapient
🚀 Digital Transformation
"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."
Griffin Parry , CEO and Co-Founder at m3ter
"The biggest shift in 2026 will be the move from technology-led differentiation to relationship-led relevance across retail, commercial, and institutional banking."
Nick Merritt , Executive Director at Designit
"In 2026, we'll see the conversation around AI begin to shift. It will become far more pragmatic and far less concerned about job-loss anxiety or fear of the unknown. In practical terms, this means the financial services sector will move away from a "computer says no" mentality and towards systems that can be challenged, interrogated, and understood."
Hugh Scantlebury , Founder and CEO at Aqilla
"By the end of 2026, card present over internet experiences will be standard in the parts of eCommerce where trust matters most. Our research with YouGov shows that 56 per cent of consumers would feel more comfortable completing online purchases in a payment process that mirrors tap and PIN at a physical terminal - something familiar, visible, and within their control."
Justin Pike , Founder & CEO at Burbank
"I think we'll see a further shift from one-size-fits-all lending towards more flexible approaches to credit, particularly for homeowners. People don't want to constantly remortgage or lock themselves into large, inflexible loans, but they do want access to the value they've already built in their homes on their own terms."
Hubert Fenwick , Co-Founder & CEO at Selina Finance
"The biggest shift will be a wave of consolidation driven by rising regulatory and capital requirements. Brazil's Central Bank has made compliance far more demanding, and many FinTech's simply won't be able to meet the new standards. As a result, only well-capitalised and operationally disciplined players will remain. This marks a turning point: after years of innovation-first policymaking, the emphasis is now on stability. The companies that can operate sustainably within stricter frameworks, not around them, will define the next chapter of financial services."
Daniel Ruhman , CEO & Co-Founder at Cumbuca
"In 2026 the growing data capability will help to provide much deeper insight into behaviour and payments, to make more informed decisions and to manage operations more effectively. However, building and maintaining trust will remain key for all businesses leveraging AI capabilities so there needs to be adequate oversight to balance carefully data protection and transparency."
Jonny Combe , President & Global CEO at PayByPhone
"The biggest shift will be financial institutions hitting a pragmatic reset. The "let a thousand flowers bloom" era of scattered AI pilots is done. We're moving to highly focused, top-down programmes with measurable, compliant outcomes. The consumerisation of AI created expectations that outstripped reality, and now there are monetary implications to running endless experiments with no clear outcome. The larger institutions have already created AI studios and centres of excellence to concentrate expertise - that's the model that wins."
George Brady , VP of Financial Services Innovation at HTEC
"The divide between fintech and traditional banking is collapsing, but not in the way most people expect. Fintech companies without banking licences will hit their ceiling, while banks without fintech capabilities will continue losing ground. The future belongs to whoever solves this integration first. We're already seeing capital move rapidly to jurisdictions that accommodate this hybrid model."
Vazgen Gevorkyan, CEO at Shark Fintech
"In 2026, we'll see finance leaders becoming far more confident in how they use AI, moving beyond cautious trials to more intentional adoption that delivers real, day-to-day impact."
Sacha Herrmann , CFO at Soldo
📋 RegTech & Compliance
"The biggest shift will be the move to data-rich, real-time credit decisioning in Europe and beyond. We will see lenders move from periodic reviews to real-time, alternative-data-driven decisions because they now have the scale and data infrastructure to do so. The customer impact will be immediate: faster approvals, sharper pricing and tailored offers."
Satty Saha , Global CEO at Creditinfo
"As global scrutiny of AI intensifies, trust and compliance will become absolutely paramount to any emerging model's success. Oversight in finance, law, and other sensitive sectors is stringent, so if an AI model can't justify its decisions and meet regulatory standards, any market share hopes are dashed."
Gaby Diamant , Founder & CEO at BridgeWise
"The transition from "growth at all costs" to intelligent, profitable growth. After the hype cycles of previous years, 2026 will be defined by investors demanding clear paths to profitability. Fintechs will no longer be judged by user count alone, but by their ability to deliver tangible, efficient value."
Raman Korneu , CEO & Co-Founder at myTU
"The biggest shift will be a move from theoretical resilience to tested, evidence-based resilience. Over the past year, we've seen multiple instances of operational failure, ransomware attacks and supplier disruption that left large organisations unable to operate. In many cases, the only reason we avoided sustained global impact was luck."
Wayne Scott , GRC Solutions Lead at Escode
💰 Stablecoins & Digital Assets
"I predict 2026 will be the year of "invisible banking." Banks won't just provide accounts, cards, or loans, they'll be seamlessly integrated into the apps, platforms, and digital experiences we use every day, like the recent payments integration on ChatGPT. You may search for holiday inspiration on the ChatGPT app next year, and instantly be able to pay for your flights and hotel then and there. All in one place. This is a big leap: moving from reactive service providers to proactive, almost invisible engines that anticipate and respond to needs before customers even realise them."
Rav Hayer , MD, UK & Ireland, Head of European FS Practice at Thoughtworks
"In the UK, 2025 was defined by significant market growth alongside a proposed phased implementation of a comprehensive regulatory framework by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and HM Treasury. The shift from a previously cautious regulatory environment, coupled with accelerating adoption of technologies from stablecoins to tokenized financial assets, sets the stage for the next growth cycle."
Pantelis Kotopoulos , UK Country Director at Bitpanda
"The biggest shift that I am expecting to see next year will be the mainstreaming of digital assets. Blockchain technology and crypto assets have been steadily extending their reach throughout the industry for over a decade, initially with intense media hype which has now moved on to newer and 'shinier' technologies like AI. There is a feeling in the industry that this slow but relentless progress is about to reach its tipping point as regulation finally catches up through the Genius Act and stablecoin models really hit their stride. This ultimately will have a profound impact on how people, businesses and countries handle and exchange value worldwide."
Marcus Treacher , Executive Chair at RTGS.global
🏦 Digital Banking
"We are moving toward a state of "Invisible Banking" where automation and personalisation are so embedded that the banking process recedes into the background, leaving only the result. End-users will demand faster results with less friction."
Michele Tucci , Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder at Credolab
⚛️ Quantum Computing
"The biggest shift is a maturing of innovation. The last decade has seen the evolution of blockchain, automation and AI, and the resultant hype has led to the creation of a range of businesses many of which have been exploring new concepts with a high fail rate."
James Burnie, Partner at gunnercooke llp
💳 Payments
"The biggest shift in 2026 will be a re-balancing of the financial services model away from growth at any cost and back towards trust, resilience and credibility."
Aaron Holmes , CEO and Co-founder at Kani Payments
Last updated: 30 December 2025
Want to contribute your 2026 predictions? Get in touch.