2026 FinTech Predictions: Insights from Dave Murphy of Publicis Sapient

As part of our 2026 Predictions series, Dave Murphy, Head of Financial Services EMEA & APAC at Publicis Sapient, shares their perspective on what financial services leaders should be thinking about as we head into 2026 and beyond.

Over to you Dave - my questions are in bold:

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

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.

This represents the biggest technology shift since the introduction of the World Wide Web. The institutions that will lead in 2026 are those making AI tangible as an integrated capability, not just a buzzword. The challenge isn't whether AI works anymore – it's about building the right governance frameworks and ensuring these systems can integrate with existing infrastructure without disrupting day-to-day operations.

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

Similar to what I have already said, Agentic AI will have the most practical impact, but only if institutions solve the data accessibility problem first. AI doesn't run on ambition; it runs on data.

If customer and transactional data remains locked inside monolithic core systems, even the most sophisticated AI will underdeliver. What we're seeing is that strategic decomposition of legacy infrastructure is becoming the critical enabler. Banks don't need to completely rebuild their cores, but they do need to make high-quality data available in near real-time to their channels and AI applications. This means creating strategic APIs and data layers that liberate information from legacy platforms. We've worked with banks that've achieved one-to-one return on investment over five years by shifting from reactive IT spend to proactive value creation through accessible data. The practical impact comes when you combine agentic AI with the right data architecture – that's when you unlock true personalisation at scale, real-time fraud detection, and automated lending and compliance processes.

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

The surge in customer expectations around hyper-personalisation, trust, and financial wellbeing is creating pressure that most banks simply can't meet with their current infrastructure.

Customers now expect real-time, personalised interactions powered by AI, the kind of experience they get from Netflix or Spotify, but fragmented data and slow pace of change make it nearly impossible for traditional banks to respond.

Meanwhile, fintech and neobank competitors are moving at speed to meet these expectations. The real challenge isn't just what customers want – it's that traditional banks are structurally unable to deliver it without front-to-back transformation. Fragmented data across siloed systems means they can't achieve the personalisation customers demand, and their inability to respond quickly to market changes puts them at a fundamental disadvantage.

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

The industry is underestimating just how much legacy infrastructure will prevent it from competing with digital-first challengers. There's a dangerous assumption that you can bolt AI onto existing systems, but that's not how it works.

Banks are spending 70% of their IT budgets maintaining legacy systems, and more than half cite the limitations of their core as the primary barrier to transformation. Yet many institutions remain hesitant to act, concerned by the perceived complexity and cost of restructuring their data architecture. This hesitation is the real risk. The other major blind spot is around governance and ethics for agentic systems. As these AI agents become more autonomous, questions around explainability, accountability, and control become critical. Who's responsible when an AI agent makes a credit decision that's technically correct but ethically questionable? These governance frameworks need to be built now, not after problems emerge.

The institutions that lag on both fronts – modernisation and governance – will find themselves unable to compete as the gap widens between data-rich, AI-enabled firms and those still trapped in legacy architecture.

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

Front-to-back bank transformation needs to be the strategic priority. A top priority within this is transforming how data flows across your entire operation, from customer channels through lending, core banking, and treasury. The core problem we see is fragmented data creating a slow pace of change and an inability to respond to market shifts.

When your data is siloed, you can't compete with fintechs and neobanks who are built on modern, unified architectures from day one. The good news is this doesn't require a disruptive big-bang approach. You can modernise progressively using techniques like multi-core routing, event-driven orchestration, and domain-driven design.

The key is taking a holistic view, not just fixing the core, but reimagining how channels, lending, treasury, and back-office operations work together with unified, accessible data. This transformation needs to be paired with a cultural shift that reorients the organisation around data, agility, and customer outcomes.

Technology modernisation is the foundation that enables everything else – agentic AI, real-time personalisation, instant payments, and the resilience regulators are demanding. Banks that treat this as just a technical challenge will fail. Those that see it as a strategic imperative reshaping how they operate, compete, and serve will lead.

Thank you Dave!

Connect with Dave on LinkedIn and read more about Publicis Sapient at their website.