After years of instability, the global fintech industry is now in a new era focused on scalability, profitability, and operational and regulatory maturity.
From the 1990s to 2013, we saw the emergence of pioneers, including PayPal and Stripe. From 2014 to 2020, the period was marked by rapid growth, including the launch of Apple Pay, Google Pay and Monzo. In the years 2021-2023, UK companies raised £72 billion in total venture capital investment, and the UK became the third largest market. 2024-2025 was the age when established global fintechs were in the piloting or experimenting with AI phase.
Now the financial industry is driven by technology that is simplifying and enhancing the experience of banking, investing, and everyday transactions.
These technologies have the power to change how people and businesses operate. Research highlights just how significant this shift has become. The fintech market is projected to surpass USD 1760 billion by 2034. This expansion is reshaping the financial landscape, fuelled by innovations that are redefining the standards of security, efficiency, and transparency.
What are the top trends shaping fintech in 2026?
- AI agents
- Agentic AI
- Stablecoins/Digital money
- Next-generation cybersecurity
- Blockchain
- RegTech
- Open banking
AI agents
The market for AI agents is expected to cross USD 52 billion by 2030.
Unlike traditional automation tools that follow fixed rules, AI agents can analyse information and interact with multiple systems. In financial services, this creates significant opportunities across operations, compliance, customer experience and risk management.
Investment banks are already deploying AI agents to support analysts with research, valuation modelling and pitch preparation. Banks are exploring AI-powered assistants capable of managing customer onboarding, handling disputes, and proactively identifying financial risks before they escalate.
Why AI agents are important
Tasks that previously required hours of manual processing can now be completed in minutes. AI agents can review thousands of documents, identify patterns across large datasets and generate recommendations faster than traditional workflows allow.
This shift is also redefining workforce expectations.
Rather than replacing financial professionals, AI agents are augmenting human expertise. Analysts, compliance specialists, and operations teams are increasingly focusing on higher-value, strategic work while AI handles repetitive or data-intensive tasks.
For organisations, the competitive advantage will come from how effectively these systems are integrated into existing business processes.
The financial institutions that succeed will be those that combine AI capabilities with strong governance, transparent oversight and human accountability.
Agentic AI
While AI agents focus on task execution, agentic AI represents a broader transformation.
Agentic AI refers to systems capable of independently planning, reasoning and acting toward specific goals with limited supervision. In financial services, this could fundamentally change how institutions operate.
Instead of simply following instructions, agentic systems can coordinate workflows across multiple departments, make contextual decisions, and continuously optimise outcomes.
How agentic AI is changing productivity
A leading multinational bank with over 80,000 employees and global revenues exceeding USD 80 billion needed to automate its manual, human-based document review and reconciliation process. Simultaneously, they had to meet strict governance standards and regulatory requirements.
In response, FDM assigned five AI-trained Python engineers to automate manual tasks in the securitisation process, accelerate AI adoption, and drive digital transformation across the business. It resulted in a 90% reduction in processing time for the bank and cemented their reputation as a pioneer in using AI to enhance business processes.
Financial ecosystems are moving toward environments where AI systems communicate with one another, execute transactions, monitor compliance and manage operations with minimal human intervention.
Operational costs could be reduced dramatically, decision-making could accelerate, and customer experiences could become increasingly personalised.
However, the risks are equally important.
Financial services remain one of the world’s most heavily regulated sectors. Institutions adopting agentic AI must ensure transparency, explainability and clear governance frameworks remain central to deployment strategies.
Stablecoins/Digital money
Stablecoins and digital money have moved from niche crypto-trading tools to mainstream financial infrastructure in 2026, with global transaction volumes exceeding USD 208 billion and surpassing those of traditional card networks.
Ben Pattison, FDM Director of International Finance, shares, “For financial institutions, this creates opportunities to improve cross-border payments, reduce transaction costs and streamline settlement processes. Cross-border transfers have historically been slow, fragmented and expensive due to the number of intermediaries involved. Stablecoin infrastructure has the potential to significantly simplify this process.”
Instead of waiting days for settlements to clear, businesses could move funds across global markets almost instantly.
Major payment providers and fintech organisations are already investing heavily in stablecoin technology as demand for real-time payments continues to grow.
Ben believes, “A growing trend is the use of stablecoins by AI agents as their native currency for autonomous economic transactions. Key players to watch are Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC), PayPal USD (PYUSD) and Growth in white-label stablecoins and euro-denominated tokens like EURC.”
Digital money is also closely linked to the rise of embedded finance.
Customers increasingly expect financial services to be seamlessly integrated into digital experiences, whether through e-commerce platforms, subscription services, or mobile applications.
Stablecoin infrastructure supports this shift by enabling programmable payments, automated settlements and more flexible financial interactions.
At the same time, governments and regulators are accelerating discussions around central bank digital currencies.
Financial institutions must prepare for a future where digital currencies operate alongside traditional banking infrastructure.
This transition will require organisations to modernise payment systems, strengthen cybersecurity measures and ensure compliance frameworks can adapt to rapidly changing regulations.
Next-generation cybersecurity
As cyber threats become increasingly sophisticated, financial institutions are investing in scalable cybersecurity operations to support global digital ecosystems around the clock.
Financial institutions are investing heavily in encryption, multi-factor authentication, and biometric security. Safeguarding the privacy of sensitive financial information builds customer confidence and prevents losses due to cyberattacks.
At the same time, the growing use of cloud infrastructure, APIs and interconnected digital ecosystems is expanding the potential attack surface for organisations.
This means financial institutions must move beyond reactive cybersecurity strategies.
FDM recently supported a leading North American bank by building a 24/7 global cybersecurity support model across the US, UK and Singapore, improving response times while reducing operational overheads.
AI-powered risk assessment tools are becoming increasingly important as phishing attacks become more complex, while quantum-ready cybersecurity strategies are emerging as organisations prepare for the next generation of digital threats.
This approach reduces the risk of insider threats, credential theft and unauthorised system access.
Blockchain
For years, blockchain technology was closely associated with cryptocurrency markets. Today, the conversation has shifted.
Financial institutions are increasingly exploring blockchain as a tool to improve transparency, security, and operational efficiency across a wide range of processes.
One of blockchain’s greatest strengths is its ability to create immutable and transparent records.
This has major implications for areas such as payments, trade finance, identity verification and compliance.
Smart contracts are also a particularly important development. These programmable contracts automatically execute transactions when predefined conditions are met, reducing the need for intermediaries and manual processing.
In trade finance, for example, blockchain-based smart contracts can automate settlement processes, reduce paperwork and improve transaction visibility.
How blockchain is improving financial services
Ben believes, “Blockchain is entering a new phase of maturity, moving beyond experimentation and becoming embedded within core financial infrastructure, particularly across settlement, compliance and tokenisation initiatives.” Nearly 80% of financial institutions are adopting blockchain to reduce settlement times to seconds, aiming for billions in savings by 2030.
Asset Tokenisation has moved from hype to reality, transforming real-world assets (bonds, real estate, funds) into digital tokens on blockchains, with estimates suggesting USD 16 trillion in assets could be tokenised by 2030.
RegTech
Regulation has always been a defining feature of financial services, but the increasing complexity of compliance requirements means traditional manual processes are no longer sustainable.
This is driving significant investment in regulatory technology, also known as RegTech. The global RegTech market is projected to exceed $85 billion USD by 2032 as organisations prioritise automation, risk reduction and real-time compliance monitoring.
RegTech solutions use AI, machine learning and automation to help organisations monitor compliance, manage reporting requirements and reduce operational risk.
Financial institutions generate enormous volumes of data every day. Manually reviewing transactions, monitoring suspicious activity and ensuring compliance with changing regulations is both time-consuming and resource-intensive.
In one FDM project supporting a global professional services network, consultants were rapidly deployed to enhance anti-financial crime transaction monitoring for a major commercial bank, helping scale compliance operations during periods of increased demand.
Why regulatory automation matters
The ability to respond quickly to new compliance requirements can provide a major competitive advantage.
Automation also reduces the risk of human error. In highly regulated industries such as banking and insurance, even small compliance failures can result in significant financial penalties and reputational damage.
However, regulatory automation is not simply about efficiency.
It is also about enabling innovation. By reducing administrative burdens, financial institutions can allocate more resources to customer experience, product development, and digital transformation initiatives.
As AI capabilities continue to mature, regulatory processes are expected to become increasingly proactive, predictive and data-driven.
Open banking
According to Ben, open banking is no longer viewed as an emerging fintech capability but as “everyday financial infrastructure,” with organisations increasingly focusing on connected, AI-enabled financial ecosystems.
What began with secure data- sharing between banks and third-party providers has rapidly expanded into a much broader ecosystem of digital financial innovation. Research shows that more than 16 million users now benefit from the service.
One of the fastest-growing developments is the rise of Account-to-Account (A2A) payments, which are becoming a popular alternative to traditional card payments. By enabling real-time bank transfers at lower transaction costs, A2A payments help businesses improve payment efficiency while offering customers a faster, more seamless checkout experience.
Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs) are also accelerating adoption across the UK market, accounting for an increasing proportion of open banking transactions. Unlike traditional direct debits, VRPs offer consumers greater flexibility and control over recurring payments while improving security and speed for businesses.
At the same time, the industry is moving beyond open banking towards the wider concept of open finance.
Artificial intelligence is expected to play a major role in the future of open banking. By combining AI with real-time transactional data, financial institutions can deliver more proactive financial guidance, predictive insights and tailored customer experiences.
Security and trust remain central to adoption. Improved API performance, enhanced fraud-prevention tools, and real-time identity verification are helping strengthen customer confidence while reducing fraud risks across digital transactions.
Globally, momentum continues to build as governments and regulators increasingly support standardised open banking and open finance frameworks. While the UK remains one of the most mature markets, regions across APAC are rapidly accelerating adoption and shaping the next generation of financial connectivity.
As open banking continues to evolve, it is becoming less of a standalone innovation and more of a foundation for the future of financial services itself.
Summary
Financial services are entering one of the most transformative periods in their history.
AI agents and agentic systems are redefining operations and customer experiences. Stablecoins and digital money are modernising payment infrastructure. Blockchain technology is improving transparency and efficiency. Open banking is enabling connected financial ecosystems, while next-generation cybersecurity and regulatory automation are becoming essential foundations for resilience and trust.
These technologies are not developing in isolation. They are converging to create a more intelligent, automated and interconnected financial landscape.
For organisations across banking, insurance, payments and fintech, the focus must now shift from experimentation to execution.
Success will depend on how effectively businesses can integrate emerging technologies, manage risk, build trust and develop the skills needed for long-term innovation.
FDM is the bridge between ambition and execution. We help clients turn strategy into outcomes and talent into transformation.
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