My 2026 Fintech Predictions
As we move into 2026, fintech is entering a more disciplined phase of its evolution. The last several years were defined by speed, experimentation, and aggressive innovation. The next phase will be defined by something far less flashy; infrastructure, stability, and trust.
Here’s how I see the next 12 months unfolding.
Over the next year, both agentic AI and embedded finance will continue moving from experimentation into core financial infrastructure. That shift is inevitable. But it won’t be frictionless, and it certainly won’t be risk-free.
Agentic AI has already proven its value in improving monitoring, automation, and decision-making across financial systems. Where I think many organizations are underprepared is in fully understanding the environmental, social, and economic consequences of deploying autonomous systems at scale.
Accountability becomes blurry when decisions are made faster than human oversight can realistically respond. Bias doesn’t disappear, it compounds. Labor displacement accelerates. And when autonomous decisions interact with one another across systems, small errors can cascade into systemic risk.
Embedded finance tells a similar story. What was once positioned as innovation has quietly become a necessity. As traditional banks pull back from lending, private lenders and non-bank platforms are stepping in, often in higher-risk segments of the market.
We’ve seen this movie before. The rapid expansion of micro-lending during the 2008 housing crisis showed what happens when capital moves faster than underlying economic stability. Scale alone does not equal sustainability.
For both agentic AI and embedded finance to become true infrastructure, the next phase must prioritize governance, transparency, and long-term economic health over speed and novelty. Otherwise, scale itself becomes the risk.
Regulation Isn’t the Enemy, Instability Is
With regulatory pressure increasing in both the U.S. and EU, many fintech leaders are asking how to continue innovating without slowing down.
My answer is simple, though not easy: trust is created through stability.
Technology is advancing faster than most organizations can responsibly manage. Code is being shipped without sufficient vetting. Systems are being built without a clear understanding of future requirements. And AI capabilities are often deployed before teams have defined what “good” governance actually looks like.
The AI boom we’re in today will slow, not because innovation stops, but because reality catches up. In 2026, speed to market will take a back seat to quality, resilience, and operational discipline.
The fintechs that win won’t be the ones who moved fastest. They’ll be the ones who built systems designed to last.
The Most Overlooked Trend: The Other 75% of the World
While much of the fintech conversation is dominated by the AI arms race, we’re overlooking a much larger reality: roughly 75% of the world is still catching up to basic internet access. That gap represents enormous opportunity.
There is real potential to uplift emerging markets by helping them leapfrog outdated systems, but only if we do it responsibly. We have a chance to help other countries avoid the mistakes we’ve already made around over-financialization, unchecked lending, and fragile infrastructure.
If fintech in 2026 is serious about impact, it won’t just be about building smarter systems for those already ahead. It will be about creating inclusive, resilient foundations for those still coming online.
Fintech is growing up. The next era won’t be defined by how fast we can innovate, but by how well we govern what we’ve built. Infrastructure beats novelty. Stability beats speed. And trust beats everything.
The question for 2026 isn’t what’s possible, it’s what’s sustainable.
