2025 was a pivotal year for fintech innovation, as rapid AI adoption triggered fears of a bubble set to burst. Leaders worried about AI hype outpacing real-world value. At the same time, scrutiny and demands for transparency intensified, led by customers, regulators and investors alike. These factors contributed to a landscape as we enter 2026 where credibility, accountability, and transparency serve as key indicators.
As firms look ahead, AI and other advancements will continue to reshape the sector, building on the transformative momentum established. The year will see increasingly ambitious initiatives across the financial services ecosystem. Yet concerns over unchecked and overstated AI technologies persist. Organisations that successfully foster a culture of transparency will be well-positioned.
Below are the key trends that I believe will define the coming moment. These areas of focus will not only drive industry progress, but also set the tone for a more inclusive, efficient and resilient future for our shared financial systems.
The Era of Explainable AI
Explainable AI will transform decision-making and risk assessment in financial services. Financial institutions can no longer solely rely on high performing ‘black boxes’ that reach conclusions with no insight into their inner workings. AI systems do not operate in a vacuum; they reflect the invisible dynamics and hierarchies that shape society. In this new era of radical transparency where algorithmic objectivity is called into question, institutions will be required to explain why a model rejects a loan, triggers a fraud alert, or recommends one portfolio over another.
This shift will require the implementation of genuine "chains of accountability" for AI. Dedicated governance; systematic documentation of models; traceability of the data used; and dashboards for monitoring biases, performance, and potential deviations will become the standard operational framework. The most advanced players will combine these explainability building blocks with enhanced human oversight to transform transparency from a constraint into an opportunity that demonstrates integrity and credibility.
Asset Tokenisation: The Liquidity Revolution
As asset tokenisation continues to gain traction beyond this phase of early institutional adoption, it will transform financial markets, making each private equity (PE) stake and investment more liquid, more easily divisible and more accessible. Although not without challenge or immune to risk, as it is integrated into mainstream finance, asset tokenisation will create much more dynamic markets.
Indeed, the retailisation of PE, which is often described as some nascent future, will be actualised through tokenisation. This simplification of asset ownership and trading, will broaden access to investor profiles, easing operational complexities and reducing the structural barriers and regulatory constraints that have long hindered retailisation.
Open Banking, Unleashed Data at Everyone's Service
Open banking, combined with the instant availability of data "as a service," will foster the emergence of an open, fluid, and interconnected financial ecosystem. The ability to retrieve information in an agile and secure manner will stimulate shared and collaborative innovation. This enhanced access will reduce customer lock-in, intensifying competition as choice increases. Institutions will have to take a customer-first approach that goes beyond product centric services.
AI that will enable the emergence of hyper-personalised financial products, designed and adapted in real time to the needs, preferences, and aspirations of each investor. The customer relationship will be profoundly transformed, with a customised and evolving experience offered. Individualised financial solutions will become the norm as institutions harness advanced analytics and machine learning to deliver hyper-personalised products.
However, the real breakthrough will come from the ability of financial players to establish an explicit ethical framework, where every citizen actively agrees to share their data because they understand the value they derive from it, control their consent, and benefit from transparent protections. It is on this foundation of trust that open banking will scale and generate a new, augmented finance, where data circulates as a shared asset.
AI and Lightning-Fast Compliance
Regulatory compliance is often seen as a bottleneck, but AI and machine learning will increasingly automate and streamline compliance processes. Checks and reporting will be accelerated, enabling near-instantaneous KYC and AML checks that are invisible to the end user. This shift will transform workstreams from reactive and human-driven to AI-led, continuous and frictionless. The result is a reshaped customer experience and security model that combines seamlessness with regulatory requirements.
2026 and Beyond
2026 will be a year of transformation across the financial services sector, spurred by newly emerging and rapidly evolving technology. Innovations such as AI-driven personalisation, open banking, and asset tokenisation are reshaping how institutions interact with their customers.
As customers become increasingly empowered, transparent practices will become a baseline expectation. To remain relevant, firms will need to prioritise purpose-led initiatives, utilising tools including explainable AI to improve accountability and support a user-centric approach.
