Banks Are All Using AI Now (And the Last 2% Are Basically Fossils)
AI in finance is now everywhere. Finastra’s 2026 report says 98% of financial institutions use AI, which means only 2% are still living in the “Maybe Later” era.
Most banks upgraded their AI this year. Almost half say AI is their #1 tool for innovation. Translation: AI is now the star employee, and humans are… supervising.
The New Phase: AI Is Here — Now Make It Work
Banks aren’t asking “Should we try AI?” anymore. They’re asking: “Okay, now how do we run this thing at scale without it causing chaos?”
The most common uses: • fraud and risk detection
• data analysis
• customer service bots
• document processing
These are big, core jobs — not side projects.
Next priorities: • personalised services
• AI agents that automate tasks
• better AI governance (aka “Please explain what the robot just did”)
The Hidden Problem: Old Systems
Banks want fancy AI, but many still run on old tech. So 87% plan to modernise things like cloud, data, and core banking.
The biggest blockers: • not enough skilled people
• not enough budget
• too much old tech
Half of banks now rely on fintech partners to fill the gaps.
Different Regions, Different Attitudes
• Vietnam: fastest adopters of AI
• Singapore: spending big on cloud and personalisation
• Japan: careful and slow, upgrading step by step
Agentic AI: Cool but Complicated
About 63% of banks are testing agentic AI — systems that take actions on their own.
This brings big questions:
Who’s responsible if AI makes a bad call? How do we control it? How do we explain it to regulators?
Bottom Line
AI in finance has officially crossed the point of no return.
The real challenge now isn’t adoption — it’s using AI safely, clearly, and smartly.
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