The banking industry is currently undergoing a period of rapid change, with forward-thinking organisations embracing comprehensive transformation to remain competitive in an increasingly digital world.
Here, Siobhan Byron, EVP of Universal Banking at Finastra, explains why the convergence of agentic AI, open ecosystems, and hyper-personalisation will define the winners of 2026 and beyond.
As we look ahead, three key trends are shaping banking’s future: technology transformation, advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and, of course, ever-evolving consumer needs.
Digital transformation, supported by new possibilities for service delivery and operational control, is delivering unprecedented agility. AI is accelerating innovation and efficiency across banking and regulatory compliance. Meanwhile, consumers increasingly expect personalised, frictionless experiences across all touchpoints, making a customer-centric approach crucial in creating sustainable competitive advantage.
Together, these factors – coupled with an evolving regulatory landscape around digital identity – are reshaping how banking will look in 2026 and beyond.
Tech transformation and ecosystem integration
Digital transformation is reshaping how financial services are developed, delivered, and consumed. Recognising the constraints of legacy systems, traditional institutions that embrace cloud-native core banking systems and modular, cloud-first architectures are enhancing their agility and responsiveness.
The shift toward platform models and embedded finance is creating an interconnected ecosystem where traditional boundaries blur. Many banks are adopting composable architectures that allow them to partner strategically with fintechs, integrating innovative capabilities through open APIs and event-driven architecture while maintaining control of core customer relationships.
Adopting an approach based on symbiosis is crucial in enabling banks to modernise incrementally while leveraging fintech agility to meet rapidly evolving customer expectations.
Banks with modernisation, flexible technology infrastructure will be best placed to expand their digital banking platforms and prioritise mobile-first experiences, reflecting the changing preferences of today’s consumers. They can also pivot more quickly to changing market conditions, maintaining service continuity while competitors struggle with legacy constraints.
Such operational resilience directly contributes to customer trust, as institutions that remain reliable during crises earn deeper loyalty and confidence.
AI as a key enabler in driving innovation
AI is fast becoming a critical differentiator in driving innovation and efficiency savings. Traditional AI implementations have often been limited to specific use cases like chatbots or basic fraud detection. In 2026, the increased deployment of agentic AI will represent a significant evolution.
Autonomous, intelligent agents – that can reason, learn, and act across multiple banking domains simultaneously – offer the potential to deliver real-time insights, manage machine-to-machine interactions, and adapt to changing conditions without human intervention.
For this potential to be realised, banks must ensure their technological foundations can support AI-driven operations. Modern core banking platforms with open APIs have become essential prerequisites for institutions looking to deploy advanced AI capabilities at scale.
Forward-thinking banks are adopting a strategy of symbiosis, integrating agentic AI with existing infrastructure to accelerate innovation without the disruption of wholesale system replacement.
Perhaps the most transformative application of agentic AI lies in its ability to deliver truly personalised banking experiences. Today’s consumers expect more than digital convenience. They want services tailored to their unique financial needs and goals.
Agentic AI enables this hyper-personalisation. It can analyse real-time behaviour patterns across multiple channels, predict customer intent and anticipate financial needs, before dynamically tailoring product recommendations and communications to match individual circumstances.
Executed well, this level of personalisation will translate directly into business outcomes – reduced customer churn, increased product adoption, and stronger long-term loyalty.
It is also crucial preparation for another potential development in 2026: the need to court both human customers and their digital representatives as AI agents gain more autonomy in managing consumer finances. Indeed, Celent is forecasting that 18 per cent of all e-commerce in Europe will be agent-initiated by 2035. Banks must consider the implications of this.
Customer centricity: the ultimate competitive advantage
Regardless of, or perhaps because of, the rise in autonomous banking, banks that adopt a more personalised, customer-centric approach stand to gain a crucial differentiator in a crowded landscape.
The most successful institutions understand the importance of empowering frontline staff to deliver personalised service and trusted guidance to customers, while leveraging technology to deliver consistent experiences at scale, and in a cost-effective manner, across all channels.
This approach requires sophisticated data capabilities to understand customer needs, robust security to protect sensitive information, and agile systems. Technology modernisation and AI adoption are enabling banks to achieve this balance between personalisation and efficiency.
By automating routine transactions and processes, staff can focus on higher-value interactions that build relationships and address complex financial needs. The challenge for banks is doing this profitably in a world where information asymmetry is dead, where customers have unprecedented access to financial information and competitor offerings.
In 2026 and beyond, the most successful financial institutions will be those that effectively integrate advanced technologies, operational resilience, regulatory compliance and customer centricity into a cohesive strategy.
Rather than treating these as separate initiatives, forward-thinking banks recognise their interconnected nature, how strong governance enables trust, how resilient systems support consistent customer experiences, and how personalised service creates lasting competitive advantage in an increasingly commoditised market.