December 19, 2025—As financial institutions prepare for the coming year, we’ve gathered insights from industry experts and media sources on the market trends, service priorities, and technology investments that will impact the industry in 2026. Five key themes emerged: next-stage AI investment, new lending models, payments and fraud management enhancements, and updated strategies to grow consumer engagement and trust.
Payments, wallets, and fraud
Payment rails and user behavior are undergoing a structural shift: tokenized payments, real‑time networks, and digital wallets are becoming primary personal banking interfaces. The online home for financial management for some of your customers is now a digital wallet or super‑app, not your digital banking mobile app. This trend will push institutions to integrate more deeply with external ecosystems while fighting to keep their brands visible and viable.
With money movement advances come new methods for fraud. AI driven fraud—deepfakes, synthetic identities, and sophisticated invoice or ACH manipulation—continues to rise, making centralized, verified data and stronger controls essential. As shared in a blog post from our parent company, EasCorp, “Critical 2026 ACH Rules Changes Every Credit Union Should Know”, Nacha’s 2026 rule changes and broader payments regulation are raising expectations for ACH fraud monitoring, operational resilience, and incident reporting, turning proactive fraud and risk analytics into table stakes rather than differentiators. Of course, fraud mitigation and risk control are the foundation of all payments channels.
Tech stack renewal and automation
Many financial institutions are hitting a 2026 inflection point where legacy cores, bolt‑on digital layers, and fragmented point solutions can no longer support big data models and real‑time, AI‑driven operations. Cornerstone Advisors‘ Modernize This: Core Systems and the Critical 5 article cite “banks and credit unions are facing a worrisome paradox today: Keeping up with technological advancements has become more critical, just as the vendor outsourcing market has become more fragmented, cumbersome, and less service-oriented.”
Industry voices are calling this a “tech stack expiration date,” where leaders must decide what to keep, sunset, or rebuild for a programmable, API‑first future that can support tokenized payments, embedded partnerships, and rapid product experimentation. Automation is expanding beyond back‑office workflow into automated compliance and real‑time monitoring, turning regulatory readiness itself into a competitive advantage.
AI as core infrastructure
Across financial institutions, AI adoption is no longer limited to single software pilots. AI is transforming all areas of our organizations and AI driven technology is becoming the main engine for lending, servicing, fraud management, and internal operations. Many financial institutions are investing heavily in data modernization too so these more advanced AI models can work at scale, turning historical and real‑time data into better credit decisions, predictive servicing, and proactive risk management. Bank Director’s 2025 Technology Survey released in September 2025, for example, reported that 28% of banks have invested in data analysis platforms or capabilities in the prior 18 months, rising to 70% for banks over $10 billion in assets, as institutions work to aggregate, organize, and clean data for AI and analytics use.
Rachel Peacock, managing director of financial services for the staffing firm InsightGlobal, outlined in a recent blog post what they are hearing from finance institutions with regards to AI and automation. In 2026, she says, financial services will be defined by a pivot from digital access to AI‑driven, real‑time, programmable finance, and all under intensifying margin and regulatory pressure. The AI pivot may be less about chasing every new feature and more about retooling traditional lending, payments, and customer engagement to survive in a world of tokenized wallets, private credit, and rising fraud.
Next‑gen lending and private credit
In lending specifically, AI‑powered decision engines and agentic AI are being used to automate underwriting, incorporate alternative data, and deliver approvals in minutes instead of days. The team from fintech lending platform Conductiv looked at both the business case and budgeting considerations in their article, 5 Critical Technology Trends Credit Unions Must Budget for in 2026. They recommend that financial institutions budget more for AI‑driven lending platforms and for permissioned data orchestration that can stitch together member data from multiple sources under strong privacy controls. While this shift enables more inclusive underwriting and better risk pricing, it also requires upgraded model governance, fair‑lending controls, and transparent communication.
Lending isn’t the only area facing reinvention through data optimization and other AI-powered technology. Global finance and technology consulting firm West Monroe’s 2026 Financial Services Industry Outlook states that “the banking sector enters 2026 amid accelerating change. Economic headwinds, regulatory shifts, and rising fintech competition are testing the limits of traditional models. But opportunities to reinvent are everywhere. The banks that thrive will be those bold enough to reimagine themselves as technology platforms, not just financial institutions.”
By 2026, West Monroe suggests, lending economics will be reshaped by embedded finance, B2B and BNPL‑style models, and a rapidly expanding private credit ecosystem. In the coming year, financial institutions must lean into API-first, AI-driven platforms that leverage real-time data and partnerships to stay competitive, while consolidation pressures, private credit growth, and automated compliance drive modernization. Alternative and fintech lenders are already using AI and non‑traditional data to deliver faster, more flexible offers, forcing credit unions to either partner, build, or risk disintermediation. Credit unions and banks that embrace data agility and AI-powered innovation will lead; those that don’t risk being left behind in an accelerating M&A and regulatory landscape.
Customer experience, trust, and regulation
Customer experience remains a central theme for 2026, but the definition is shifting from simply a good mobile app to well-orchestrated, personalized journeys across money movement channels and third party technology partners. AI‑powered assistants, proactive alerts, and financial wellness tools are part of our everyday interactions with financial institutions are aiming to deliver tailored guidance rather than just transactions. As financial institutions navigate intensifying competition and escalating customer demands, AI-powered tools empower them to provide scalable, personalized experiences grounded in data insights. In his CreditUnions.com article, Empowering The Credit Union Movement To Deliver Personalized Member Experiences, CEO and Co-founder Mitch Rutledge of Vertice AI, a leading provider of member growth and marketing effectiveness software, outlines how AI solutions can enable financial institutions to analyze customer preferences and engagement patterns, delivering personalized communications at scale to enhance engagement, loyalty, and retention.
Regulatory scrutiny of payments, operational resilience, and consumer protections is also intensifying, increasing demand for stronger governance, third‑party oversight, and data ethics. Financial institutions that prioritize a transparent use of AI, strong fraud safeguards, and demonstrable customer benefit are best positioned to turn regulation and trust into strategic assets rather than constraints.
Final Takeaway
For today’s financial institutions, strategic action and investment in technology are essential. 2026 will test how well financial institutions can blend innovation with compliance. Those investing now in AI‑ready systems, ethical governance, and customer experience first design will set the pace for a new era of finance—one where technology amplifies, rather than replaces, the customer connection.
Please note: This information is provided for educational purposes only. Please consult your legal and compliance teams for regulatory guidance.
Additional Resources
- Shaping the future of payments | Deloitte US, Deloitte Consulting LLP, October 2025
- The future of payments: Six industry trends shaping 2026, MasterCard, December 2025
- Planning for 2026: Five US trends financial institutions can’t ignore, RFI Global, September 2025