AccentureTrends

Banking2026>

UnconstrainedBanking

Anewageofpossibility

Trend1

Thefutureofmoney

Trend2

Thefuture

ofexperience

Trend4

Thefuture

oftechnology

Trend5

Thefutureofriskandregulation

Trend6

Thefuture

ofcompetition

Trend3

Thefuture

ofworkandtalent

TopBankingTrends2026

Aboutthereport

Accenture'stopbankingtrends2026ismorethanaforecast;it’saguidetoafuturewherethelimitsthatoncedefinedbanking

aredisappearing.

Forgenerations,technology,structureandriskappetiteconstrainedwhatbankscouldachieve.Today,thoseboundariesaredissolving.

GenerativeAI(genAI),digitalassetsandthepotentialfornew

businessmodelsarerewritingtherules,creatingpossibilitiesthatwereunimaginablejustafewyearsago.

Thefutureofbankingisbeingwrittennow.Thisreportdistillsinsightsfromourglobalclientwork,boardroomconversationsandresearch,offeringaclearlookatwhat’shappeningandwhy.Italsooffers

actionsbankscantaketounlockcapacity,accelerateinnovationandredefinewhat’spossible.Ourmissionistoequipbankingleadersnotjusttoadapt,buttolead—transformingconstraintintoopportunity

andshapingthenexteraofbanking.

Researchsnapshot

Thisyear,theTopBankingTrendsteambeganbydefiningthecorethemesshapingtheindustry.Candidatetrendsweredevelopedthroughinternalcrowdsourcing,

drawingoninsightsfromseniorleadersacrosskeydomains.Shortlistedideaswerevalidatedusingarigorous,mixed-methodsapproach:foursurveyswithbanking

executives,commercialbankingclientsandretailbankingcustomers,supportedbyeconomicmodelingandcomplementaryresearchtechniques.Thisprocessensureseverytrendisbothevidence-basedandhighlyrelevanttotheindustry.

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MichaelAbbott

SeniorManaging

Director–Global

BankingandCapitalMarketsLead

ConnectwithMichael

Preface

Bankingisenteringaneradefinedbytheremovaloflong-standing

constraints.Forcenturies,thelimitsoftechnology,organizational

structure,riskappetiteandevenimaginationhaveboundtheindustrytoacertainshape.Today,theconvergenceofgenAIandagenticAI,digitalassetsandnewbusinessmodelsisnotonlychallengingthoselimits,butshatteringthem.

Imaginede-couplingcapacityfromheadcountandphysical

infrastructureandunlockingthepoweroftensofthousandsof

employeesatafractionofthecost.Imaginebeingabletounderstandriskinitsentiretyinrealtime.Imagineturningcustomerexperiencesintoaseamlesscontinuityofconversations.

Thesepossibilitiesaresuddenlyviable;infact,they’rechanging

thefaceofcompetition.Welcometotheageofunconstrainedbanking.

Weexplorethephenomenoninthesepages,focusingonsixkey

areas:money,experience,work,technology,riskandcompetition.Toensuretheperspectiveswesharewouldbecurrentandactionable,

wedrewoninsightsfromhundredsofglobalclientengagementsandboard-levelconversations,complementedbyproprietaryresearchandanalysis.Wealsoexpandedourauthorteamtoincludespecialistsin

eacharea.

Ouraimistoaddressthecriticalquestionswe’rehearingfrom

bankingleadersaroundtheworld:Howwilltheindustryevolveoverthenextfiveyears?Howcanbanksbalanceinnovationwithprudentriskmanagement?Whatnewformsofcompetitionandcollaborationwillemerge?Andmostimportantly,howcanleaderspreparetheir

organizationstothriveinthisrapidlychangingenvironment?

Bankingisadiverseandcomplexindustrythatdefiessimpledefinition.Weinviteyoutoexplorethesetrendsasbothaguideandacatalystforunconstrainedthinking.

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Trend1:Thefutureofmoney

Dumbmoneygetssmarter

ThefutureofThefutureofThefutureof

ecoconnlgyriskandreguaaiincmpetiin

Authors

Everythingweknowaboutmoneyisaboutto

SulabhAgarwal

ManagingDirector–

GlobalPaymentsLead

change,exceptthatitwillstillbemoney.Anewphaseistakingshapeinhowmoneyisstored,

moved,usedandmadesmarter—andultimately,howitworksforbanksandcustomers.

Digitalcurrenciessuchasstablecoins,centralbank

BrianShniderman

SeniorManaging

Director–NorthAmericaPaymentsLead

digitalcurrencies(CBDCs)andtokenizeddepositsare

poisedtoenterthemainstream,redefiningwhereand

howmoneyflows.Paymentrails,thenetworksthatmovemoneybetweenparties,areevolving.Newinteroperablerails—sharedpaymentinfrastructuresthatallowdifferentsystemsandnetworkstoconnectseamlessly—along

withdata-rich,programmablepaymentsaremaking

today'stransactionssmarter.Theseshiftsrepresentbothariskandanopportunityforbanks.Digitalcurrencies

couldpushpaymentsandrevenueoutsidetraditionalbanking,whilesmartertransactionscouldplacebanksatthecenterofanewrevolution.

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upto$13trillionintransactionvaluecouldshifttoalternativepayment

methodsby2030,puttinganestimated$13billioninpaymentfeesat

risk.1Atthesametime,tokenizationandsmartcontractsenabledthroughdigitalcurrenciesprovideasignificantopportunityforpaymentplayers

Basedonouranalysis,ifdigitalcurrenciescontinuetogaintraction,

toreducecostsandcreatenewrevenuestreams.

Momentumaroundagenticpaymentsisgrowingquickly.It’snotjust

aboutreducingfriction;it’saboutdelegation:moneymovingonitsown,throughintelligentagentsactingforcustomers.Soon,moneywillbe

workingforitsowner,neveridleandalwaysoptimizingitself.

Capturingthisopportunitywillrequirefocus,asfintechsandbigtechs

areracingaheadwithfaster,cheaperandmoreintuitivewaystostore,

moveandusemoney.Banksneedtostartshapingthesedisruptions,

moresothanreactingtothem.Therealopportunityliesinorchestratingthetrust,technologyandintelligencethatmakesmartmoneymove

safelyandpurposefully,puttingbanksbackatthecenterofvalue

creation.Toseizethemoment,banksmustdevelopacleardigital

currencystrategyandmodernizethesystemsthatenablethemovementofmoney.Theyshouldalsodeepentheirunderstandingofwhat

customerstrulyvalueandbuildtrustinagenticpayments.

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Dumbmoneyisabouttogetsmarter.

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What’sgoingon

Considerthethreemajorevolvingelementsthatmakeupthistrend:

howmoneyisstoredandmoved,howitisdevelopingitsownintelligence

andhowitisworkingharderfororganizationsandindividuals.

Newwaysofmovingandstoringmoney

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Moneyhasalwaysevolvedwithtechnology.Oncedependentonphysical

gold,coinsandothertangibleassets—costlyandinefficientforms

ofexchange—ithas,inthepastdecade,expandedtoincludenon-

traditionalpaymentmethodsthathavedrawntheattentionofregulators,

thepaymentscommunityandcustomersalike.

Anyonewatchingtheeveningnewsisfamiliarwiththetickersflashingthedaily

swingsofcryptocurrencieslikeBitcoin.Today,threeemergingtypesofdigital

currenciesaregainingtraction,eachofferinggreaterstabilitythanBitcoinand

servingdistinctrolesintheevolvingmoneyeconomy.(SeeFigure1.)

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Figure1:Threetypesofdigitalcurrenciesareemerging

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?SandDollar(Bahamas)

?JAM-DEX(Jamaica)

?e-naira(Nigeria)

Example?USDC

?USDT

?PYUSD

?EURS

What

Privatelyissueddigitaltokens

designedtomaintainastablevaluerelativetoafiatcurrency

Centralbank–issueddigitalmoney

Commercializedbankdepositsrepresentedonadistributed

ledger

Whoissues

?Subsidiariesofinsureddepositoryinstitutions

?Qualifiednon-bankentitiesandpaymentstablecoinissuers

?Centralbanks/monetaryauthority

?Regulatedbanks

?JPMCoin/JPMD

?CitiTokenServicesTokenizedDepositsforCorporateClients

StablecoinsCBDCsTokenizeddeposits

Howitisused

?24/7cross-bordertransfers

?Crypto-tradingliquidity

?Programmablepayments

?Inclusivepayments(retail)

?Resilientpublicmoney

?Wholesalesettlement/Real-TimeGrossSettlementmodernization

?Cross-bordercorridors

?Corporatetreasurymanagement

?Programmabletradefinance

?B2Bpayments(amongissuer'scorporateclients)

Thislistisnon-exhaustive.

Source:AccentureResearchanalysis.

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Stablecoins,bydesign,redefinewheremoneyisstoredandhowit

moves.TheyaregainingtractionacrossNorthAmerica.InEurope,

newconsortiumsareworkingtoissueeuro-denominatedversions.2

Totaltransactionvolumereached$51trillionoverthe12months

endinginOctober2025,butweknowthatalotoftheactivityisnot

strictlyrelatedtopayments.Afteradjustingformaximalextractable

value(MEV)—strategiesthatprofitfromreorderingtransactionswithinablock,oftenexecutedbyautomatedbots—andintra-exchange

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transactions,theestimatedpayment-relatedvolumestandsat$10.7trillion.3Thisreflects88%year-on-yeargrowth,equivalentto81%ofVisa’spaymentsvolumeand6.3timesthatofPayPal.4(SeeFigure2.)

Figure2:StablecointransactionvolumehasevensurpassedVisa's

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Adjustedstablecoinvolumeversusotherfinancialsystems(averagelast30-dayrollingvolumes)

1.5

1.4

1.3

1.2

CAGR‘20-’25

1.1

1.0

USDTrn

Stablecoins85%

0.9

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Visa7%

0.8

PayPal16%

0.7

Remittance4%

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.0

Jan‘20Jan‘21Jan‘22Jan‘23Jan‘24Jan‘25Oct‘25

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Source:AccentureResearchanalysisbasedonVisaOnchainAnalyticsDashboardandArtemis,asof

11/19/2025

Note:Averagelast30-dayrollingtransactionvolumesinUSDforfinancialsystems.StablecoinvolumeexcludesMaximalExtractableValue(MEV)bots.

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87%

offinancial

institutions

areexploring

tokenizationas

complementarytoolstoissue

digitalversionsoftraditionalassets.

reservesrivalingthoseofsovereignbalancesheets.Tether,theworld’s

largeststablecoinissuer,isnowtheeighteenth-largestholderofUS

Treasuries,surpassingmajoreconomieslikeGermany,SaudiArabia

andSouthKorea.Inthesecondquarterof2025,Tetherpurchased$8

billioninUSTreasuries,rankingastheseventh-largestnetbuyeramonginstitutionalholders.5Tether’sascentunderscoreshowdigitalcurrencieshavequicklyevolvedfromfringeinnovationtosystemicplayers.

Asmanyas135countriesareexploringCBDCs—sovereignalternativestotraditionalmoney—thoughonlythreehavelaunched.6Unlikeprivatestablecoinsortokenizedbankdeposits,CBDCscarrystatebacking

andlegal-tenderstatus,enabledirectmonetarypolicy,fosterfinancial

inclusion,lowertransactioncostsandreduceexposuretoprivate-issuerrisk.Asmorepilotsmature,weexpectsignificantdevelopmentsover

thenexttwotothreeyears,withEuropeinparticularmakingstrongprogresstowardlaunchingadigitaleuro.7

Tokenizeddeposits,meanwhile,aregaininggroundasthebridge

betweenblockchainandtraditionalbanking,allowingcommercial

bankstoissuesecure,programmabledigitalversionsofdepositswhile

maintainingregulatorysafeguards.Thesedepositsofferfaster,cheapersettlements,greatertransparencyandnewopportunitiesforinnovationinpaymentsandassettransactions.Tokenizeddepositsalsopreserve

commercialbanks’roleinmoneycreation,astheyremainbankliabilities,unlikeCBDCsorfullyreserve-backedstablecoins.OurFutureofMoneysurveyshowsthat87%offinancialinstitutionsareexploringtokenizationandtokenizeddepositsascomplementarytoolstoissuedigitalversionsoftraditionalassets,therebyimprovingliquidityandsettlement

flexibility.8IntheUK,theTokenizedSterlingDepositsinitiativeled

byUKFinancebringstogethermajorbankssuchasHSBC,BarclaysandNatWesttotestblockchain-baseddigitalmoney.Runninguntil

2026,theprojectaimstomodernizetheUK’spaymentinfrastructurebycombiningthetrustofregulateddepositswiththeefficiencyandprogrammabilityofblockchain.9

Evenearlystablecoinissuersthatoncefacednearcollapsenowhold

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servicesleadingdeployment,followedbystablecoins.10CBDCsand

tokenizeddepositsarestillintheearlystagesofdeploymentbutshouldgainmomentumasthemarketmaturesandregulatorsclarifyboundaries.

TheEU’sMiCAframeworkandtheUS’sGENIUSActarelayingfoundationsfordigitalassetoversight,fosteringconfidenceandaccelerating

Overall,digitalcurrencyadoptionremainsuneven,withcrypto-related

adoption.11,12

Fromacustomerperspective,corporateclientsaredrivingmuchofthismomentum.Theirgoalsarepractical:fastercross-bordersettlements,

automatedtransactionsthroughsmartcontractsandsimplifiedrecurringpayments.Manyexpecttheircross-borderpaymentstoshiftfrom

traditionalsolutionssuchasSwift,ACHandSEPAtodigitalcurrencies,non-bankpaymentsolutionsanddigitalwalletssuchasCoinbase,Wise,AirwallexandPayPal.13

Asdigitalcurrenciesmovefrompilottoscale,theyarereshapingtheveryarchitectureofpayments.Thefocusisshiftingfromcreatingnewformsofmoneytobuildingsmarter,fasterandmoreconnectedwaystomoveit.

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ThefusionofAIanddigitalmoneyiscreatinganewphase:moneythat

canact,decideandoptimizeonitsown.Thefirststepinthatevolution

isprogrammablemoney,wherepaymentsexecuteautomaticallyonce

specificconditionsaremet,suchasacargoscanataportoraninvoice

verification.Intradeandsupplychains,programmablemoneyenables

escrow-on-delivery,milestonepayoutsandautomatedcompliancechecks.

Theseprogrammablepaymentcapabilitiesreducedisputes,improveworking-capitalefficiencyandmakecashflowmorepredictable.

Moneythat'sbecomingintelligent

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howSiemens,operatingin190countriesandmanagingtransactionsin

over100currencies,partneredwithJ.P.MorganPaymentstomodernize

itsfragmentedtreasurynetwork.Usingblockchain,virtualaccounts,

applicationprogramminginterfaces(APIs)andprogrammablemoney,

Siemensautomatedpaymentsandliquiditytransfersbasedonpredefinedrulessuchasbalancethresholdsandintercompanyevents.Theresults

werestriking:a50%reductioninbankaccounts,70%lessmanagementeffort,80%automationofcashapplicationandmorethan$20millioninannualsavings.Withreal-timevisibilityandcontrol,treasuryhasevolvedfromareactivefunctiontoastrategicenablerofgrowth.14

Butthisevolutionextendsbeyondprogrammability.Whendigital

currencies,tokenizeddepositsandCBDCsconnectwithreal-timepaymentrails,cardnetworksandFXplatforms,moneyflowsacrossthefastest

andmostefficientroutes.Theseinteroperablepaymentrailsfunctionasaglobal“moneyrouter,”shiftingcontrolfromclosednetworkstoopenorchestrationlayers.

Aspaymentsbecomemoreintelligentandinterconnected,transactiondata—coveringidentity,complianceandcontext—nowenablesinstantverificationandreducesmanualchecks.Thisvaluabledatawasoften

overlooked,butnowoverlayapplicationsbuiltonreal-timepayment

railsandISO20022dataareunlockingitsfullpotential.Theseservicesconsolidateinformationflows,eliminatereconciliationsandprovide

actionableinsights,allowingmoneyandintelligencetomovetogether.

India’sUnifiedPaymentsInterface(UPI)offersanexample.Byconnectingbanks,fintechsandwalletsonasinglereal-timenetwork,itenablesinstanttransfersusingaphonenumberorvirtualID.Thisopenmodeldrivesmorethan15billionmonthlytransactions;theInternationalMonetaryFundhas

praiseditasabenchmarkforinclusivedigitalfinance.15Cross-border

expansionhasalreadycutremittancecostsbymorethan10%compared

totraditionalpaymentmethods.16

Programmablemoneyisalsoredefiningcorporatetreasury.Consider

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Always-on,real-timesettlementshortenscash-conversioncycles

andenablesintradaytreasuryfunctionssuchasautomatedsweeps,programmablenettingandpay-on-receiptflows.Firmsgainliquidityprecisionbutmustrethinkpricing,buffersandriskcontrolsto

Thesameprincipleappliestoliquiditymanagementandsettlements.

accommodateinstantoutflows.

Circle,theUS-basedissueroftheUSDCstablecoin,haspartneredwith

Arf,aSwitzerland-basedblockchainliquidityplatform,todemonstratehowstablecoinscantransformglobalsettlements.UsingUSDC,Arfextends

short-termliquiditytolicensedpaymentproviders,enablingreal-time

settlementwithoutprefunding.Thismodeleliminatescorrespondent-

bankingfriction,freestrappedcapitalandimprovesliquidityefficiency.17

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Moneythat'sworkingharder

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Thenextstageofevolutionisagenticmoney,whereintelligent

financialagentsactonbehalfofuserstomanage,optimizeandmovefundsautomatically.

AgenticmoneyusesAI-enabledagentsthatoperatewithinclearrulesandconsentframeworks.Forcorporates,theseagentscanpredictcashflowneeds,schedulesettlementsandoptimizeFXtiming,turningpayments

fromreactivetoproactive.Forconsumers,theagentsactasdigital

assistantsthatanticipateneedsandexecuteapprovedtransactions.OurGlobalHolidayShoppersSurvey2025foundthat35%ofconsumersarewillingtoletAIhandlethefinalselectionandpurchaseontheirbehalf,

thoughmoststillprefertorevieworapprovebeforecheckout.18

Amazon’s“BuyforMe”featureshowsthisfutureinaction.Stillin

beta,itallowsAmazon’sAIagentstocompletepurchasesonbehalfof

customers,evenonthird-partywebsites,withoutredirectingthemfromtheAmazonapp.TheAIhandlesproductdiscovery,dataentry,checkoutandpaymentauthorizationunderuser-definedrules,signalingafuture

35%

ofconsumersarewillingtoletAI

handlethefinalselectionand

purchaseontheirbehalf.

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wheretransactionsbecomefullyautomatedandcontext-aware.19

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What’satstake

Whenweaskedcorporateclientsabouttheircross-borderpayment

preferences,wenotedashifttowardnon-traditionalpaymentmethodsincludingdigitalcurrencies,non-bankpaymentservicesandwallets.

PayPallaunchedastablecoinandpartneredwithOpenAItoenableagenticpurchasesviaChatGPT.20,21Inaclosed-walletenvironment,thatmeans

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bypassingtraditionalpaymentplayerscompletely.Asnoted,ifthistrendmaterializesforcorporatecross-borderpayments,roughly$13trillion

intransactionvaluecouldmovefromtraditionaltoalternativepayment

methodsby2030,puttingabout$13billioninpaymentfeesatrisk.Itwillreshapehowbankscompeteforcross-borderflows.22(SeeFigure3.)

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Figure3:Non-traditionalcross-borderpaymentschallenge$13billioninfeerevenue

Expectedchangeinmethodusedbycorporatepaymentsclientsforcross-bordertransactions

Traditionalmethods:

Creditcards,

SWIFT,SEPA,ACH

Non-traditionalmethods:

Digitalcurrencies,non-bankpayment

solutions(suchasWise,Airwallex,

Coinbase,PayPal)

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2025

Currentmarketstructure

33%

67%

2030Disruptive scenario*

50%

50%

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$13billion

offeerevenuefromB2B

cross-bordertransactionsfor

largeenterprisesisatrisk

*Assumesaveragecostoftransactiondecreasesto0.1%.

Source:AccentureResearchanalysisbasedonourFutureofMoneySurveyandPaymentsRevenueModel.

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operateseamlesslyacrossmultiplecurrencies,theycouldmake

correspondentbankingobsolete,reshapetradeandcompress

traditionalbankingrevenues.23Theshifttoprogrammable,always-onmoneywillrequireanewbalancebetweenspeed,controlandtrust.

Programmabilitywillalsodisrupttradefinance.Assmartcontractsandconditionalpaymentsbecomemainstream,manytraditional

documentaryprocessescoulddisappear,puttingtradefinance

feesatriskforbanks.24Thepressuretocreatenew,programmableproductsandserviceswillonlyintensify.

Atthesametime,fraudriskisrising.Seventy-eightpercentof

financialinstitutionsexpectfraudtoincreasesignificantlyduetotheexpansionofdigitalcurrenciesandagent-basedsystems.Yet60%stilllackdedicatedresponseplansorforensictools,relyinginsteadonbasicproceduresandworkflowsthatwon’tscalein

78%

offinancial

Therealchallengeliesinexecution.Ambitioniswidespread,but

actionlags.Institutionsthatactearlybysettingclearstrategiesandcollaboratingwithpeers,otherindustryplayersandregulatorswillcapturetheefficienciesandclientbenefitsalreadywithinreach.

Thosethathesitateriskbeingleftbehindastheeconomicsofpaymentsevolve.

institutionsexpectfraudtoincreasesignificantlydue

totheexpansionofdigital

currenciesandagent-based

systems.

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Buttheimplicationsextendfarbeyondfees.Oncedigitalwallets

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anautonomousenvironment.25

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Whattodo

Thisspaceischangingdaily;bankscan’taffordawait-and-seeapproach.

Werecommendthefollowingactions:

Defineadigitalcurrencystrategy.

Bankscanplayoneormorerolesinthedigitalcurrencyarena,asissuers,custodians,facilitatorsoracombinationofthethree.Afewbanksmay

choosetotakeoneveryrole,butmostwillfindthey’rebetterservedbyconsideringthetrade-offsandfocusingonone.

Towinasanissuer,forexample,abankwillneedtoleverageitstrustandregulatorystrengthtoissueorintegratefullybacked,complianttokens

thatdel