6 Fintech Trends to Watch in 2026

In 2026, fintech in Europe will no longer be defined by experimentation. The next wave is about scale, accountability and infrastructure. AI systems are making decisions regulators can audit. Payments are embedded deep inside B2B workflows. Operational resilience has become a board-level legal obligation. And sustainability reporting is no longer a branding exercise but an enforced activity. 

The overarching message is – we’re moving from innovation to its governance. Here are six trends we see shaping fintech strategy in 2026. Let’s dive in.

1. Agentic AI & Governance

AI in financial services is evolving fast – from conversational chatbots to agentic AI, autonomous systems capable of completing end-to-end workflows. These systems can investigate fraud cases, reconcile transactions, pre-screen loan applications or resolve customer service issues without human intervention. 

This shift is already happening. A 2025 MIT Technology Review Insights survey of 250 banking executives found that 70% of banks are already using agentic AI, either in production (16%) or through pilot programs (52%). Gartner estimates that by the end of the decade, agentic AI will autonomously resolve the majority of routine customer service issues. 

But in Europe, the real challenge is not adoption – it’s governance.

From ‘Does it work?’ to ‘Can you explain it?’ 

Under the EU AI Act, which enters its main enforcement phase in August 2026, many financial AI systems are classified as ‘high-risk’, including those used for: 

• Credit scoring
• Fraud detection
• AML and transaction monitoring

These systems must now be legally obliged to demonstrate: 

• How decisions are made
• How bias is mitigated
• How outcomes can be audited and challenged

Responsibility sits squarely with senior management. AI decisions must now be defensible in front of supervisors, auditors and courts. 

This creates a tension. While ‘simple’ conversation AI already powers familiar tools like chatbots (used by 72% of institutions), self-service portals (68%) and personalised recommendations (63%) – agentic AI pushes far deeper into core operations. At the same time, customer trust in financial companies’ ability to manage AI remains low, with data security and privacy continuing to be the top concern for executives deploying AI.

2. Embedded Finance Pivots to B2B

In 2026 global embedded payment volumes are expected to approach $7 trillion, with forecasts reaching over $15 trillion by 2030. Increasingly, that growth will be coming not from the already mature consumer products like BNPL tools or in-app payments, but from B2B ecosystems. 

European SaaS platforms are increasingly embedding working-capital tools directly into their software workflows – such as flexible payment terms for buyers (dynamic payables) and early-payment options for suppliers (supplier financing). This shift is being driven by a growing wave of new services across Europe such as Kriya, iwocaPay, Billie, Mondu, Two, and Hokodo and others, all focused on embedded B2B payments.  

As a result, finance moves from a cost centre into a profit generator, creating recurring revenue streams and deep customer ‘stickiness’ that is difficult for competitors to break.

3. Operational Resilience Becomes Mandatory (DORA) 

Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) applies to more than 20,000 EU financial entities including banks, insurers, payment institutions, investment firms as well as 19 critical Information and Communication Technology (ICT) third-party providers like AWS, Azure, Google Cloud and others. Its purpose is to ensure that financial services can withstand cyber incidents, IT failures, and third-party disruptions.

What changes in 2026? 

While DORA entered into force in 2025, 2026 marks the shift to active enforcement: 

• Annual Register of Information (ROI) submissions become more scrutinised
• Supervisors expect mature documentation of third-party risks, including subcontractors
• Audits increasingly resemble ECB-style deep inspections 

Most importantly, executives are personally accountable. Boards are legally responsible for ICT risk management. 

From spreadsheets to real-time resilience 

Manual, spreadsheet-based compliance is no longer sufficient. Firms are expected to implement: 

• Continuous risk monitoring
• Real-time dashboards
• Automated third-party risk assessments 

The penalties are significant. Financial institutions face fines of up to 2% of global annual turnover for violations of the Act, while individual executives can be fined up to €1 million personally. Major ICT providers designated as critical third-party providers face even steeper sanctions.

4. Digital Euro & Assets 

The Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation provides long-awaited legal clarity for stablecoins and tokenized assets. For banks and payment providers, this removes a major barrier to adoption.

Regulated stablecoins go mainstream 

Stablecoins are increasingly being used for real B2B settlement and enterprise payments, rather than speculative trading. Companies are already applying them to operational use cases: for example, SpaceX has reportedly used stablecoins to collect payments for its Starlink service in emerging markets, while Deel, a global HR/payroll platform, allows businesses to fund accounts and pay invoices for international contractors using stablecoins. 

For enterprises, the appeal is practical. Stablecoins enable: 

• 24/7 cross-border transfers
• Faster settlement compared to correspondent banking
• Reduced operational friction

Global stablecoin payment flows are projected to reach $56 trillion annually by 2030, driven largely by enterprise use cases.

The Digital Euro moves closer

Alongside this, the European Central Bank is progressing toward a Digital Euro, a central bank-issued digital form of cash designed for everyday payments. Its main strategic goal is to ensure Europeans continue to have access to state-guaranteed money as cash usage declines and private payment infrastructures dominate. 

While first live pilots are expected in 2027, 2026 is a crucial preparation year that includes: 

• Selection of banks and payment service providers for pilot participation
• Final definition of use cases (P2P, in-store, online, offline)
• Technical and privacy testing with stakeholders

5. Open Banking Evolves into Open Finance 

Europe continues to lead in financial data sharing, moving beyond simple bank account data such as balances and transaction histories toward Open Finance, which covers a user’s broader financial life, including pensions, insurance and investments. 

The transition to PSD3 and the Financial Data Access (FiDA) framework standardises how financial data is shared across the EU – defining who can access which data and how user consent is managed. Under PSD3, currently fragmented and inconsistent bank APIs will have to meet enforceable standards for reliability and performance, and third-party providers must be given access that works as well as banks’ own digital channels. The final text of PSD3 is expected in early 2026, after which Member States will begin its transposition into national law.

In parallel, FiDA drives operational preparation for sharing non-bank financial data, marking the practical transition from Open Banking to Open Finance. 

This will enable a 360-degree view of clients, improving decision-making for advisors, lenders and insurers by replacing fragmented data with a complete financial picture.

6. ESG-Focused Fintech

Sustainability in Europe is crossing a tipping point, moving from a marketing narrative into regulated infrastructure. 

Under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), large companies must report on double materiality – how sustainability impacts the business and how the business impacts society and the environment. 

Although the proposed Omnibus Package significantly reduces the number of companies directly in scope (from ~50,000 to under 7,000), those remaining (companies of over 1000 employees and a net annual turnover of over €450 million) face strict enforcement for 2025-2026 reporting cycles as well as due diligence that applies to very large corporations.

AI-driven ESG becomes essential

To meet these requirements, companies are turning to AI-powered ESG platforms that: 

• Automate emissions and supply-chain data collection
• Provide audit-ready traceability
• Support real-time impact analytics 

Despite the regulatory pullback, pressure is rising. Over half of companies report increased demand for sustainability data from investors and partners, and 66% are increasing resources devoted to ESG reporting.