As the transition to Artificial Intelligence (AI) in financial services accelerates and mobile banking pervades, banks and other financial institutions must work harder to create more personalised customer experiences and build trust if they are to overcome customer concerns about privacy, security and loss of human interaction.

RFI Global’s Trends and Predictions report, launched today, dives deep into how global consumers and businesses think about, choose and experience financial services to reveal five key consumer trends and predictions that will shape the sector in 2026.

According to the report, an overwhelming majority of consumers – 95% in Singapore, 94% in Australia, 84% in the USA – have concerns about AI-powered financial services.

Fear that over-reliance on AI will lead to fewer opportunities for human interaction and expertise is a top 3 concern. However, fewer consumers in Australia (29%) and Hong Kong (25%) claim this fear – compared to banking users in the USA (53%), Canada (45%) and Malayasia (42%).

“In a landscape of rapid technological change, banks and neobanks alike must build trust through transparency, bias checks, regular audits, and clarity about how AI is used and where human expertise remains vital,” said Caitlin Hill, Insights Director at RFI Global. “Banks that meet consumers with transparency, the reassurance of human support and hybrid models will differentiate themselves in a crowded market.”

Privacy and security impacts customer retention

Privacy and security is another top cited concern related to AI-powered financial services globally with 55% in the USA, 50% in Malaysia, 44% in Canada, 41% in Singapore expressing concerns, compared to 37% in Australia and 28% in Hong Kong.

This has impacted customer retention, with 5-20% of customers across markets – 5% in Australia, 6% in the UK and 11% in the USA – stating their dissatisfaction with how the bank responded to them when they fell victim to banking fraud as a reason they are considering switching their primary bank. This figure reaches 20% in the UAE.

“Driven by AI, the scale, speed and sophistication of fraud has turned it into a greater global threat,” said Luke Allchin, Director, North America at RFI Global.

Innovation creates best-in-class digital banking experiences

Insights from RFI Global’s iSky platform, which tracks thousands of consumer and business interactions on more than 200 banking and finance apps worldwide, point to an accelerated period of innovation by leading institutions and smaller challengers.

These new customer-controlled features may have been initiated to unlock new revenue streams, but they also provide more empowerment for users to manage their digital footprint and profile, addressing concerns around privacy and security.

New privacy and security features have been added in over the past 2 years: 13.8% of banks have built-in app functionality to lock or disable a card; 11% have added the ability to mask personal information on the interface for the first time; and 16% of banks have incorporated profile or account closing features in app. Further, one of most highly sought after features globally – the ability to cancel and replace a card – has also grown by 3% year on year.

“Banks are no longer just providing digital access; they’re designing digital empowerment,” said Mark Donohue, Managing Director, iSky at RFI Global, who founded the recently acquired iSky Research. “Collectively these innovations point to a sector rapidly professionalising its digital capabilities. Yet there is still more to be done to address customer concerns. The next 12 months will be pivotal, determining which providers lead on service and those left to compete on price.”

Other trends highlighted in the report are:

• Businesses less cautious about AI than consumers. SMEs are becoming less cautious about the use of AI in banking as they recognise AI’s potential to improve operational efficiency and reduce cost. One in four UK SMEs (27%) have no concerns about the use of AI in banking, down from one in 10 two years ago. Further, as a sign of confidence that banks are listening, only 38% of SMEs in Australia believe that AI chatbots will never replicate human interaction.

• Neobanks are no longer just disruptors, they are moving towards full service financial institutions. After a decade of explosive growth, particularly in the UK and USA, neobanks are entering a new phase of sustainable profitability; marked not by sheer customer acquisition but by deepening customer engagement and cross-sell ratios driven by demand for value, innovation and integrated financial experiences. Revolut, Europe’s most valuable fintech and SoFi in the USA exemplify this shift.

• Beyond banking features. In the UK, neobanks have expanded into digital investment applications such as tradeable assets, crypto, shares, precious metals and multinational currencies while building rewards and socialised banking features.

• Affluent investments will rise – as interest rates decrease, affluent consumers are reallocating funds from savings into investments as they increasingly take charge of their future wealth.

• Use of AI in banking will follow the same trajectory as mobile banking – slow beginnings and then rapid growth once established.

You can download RFI Global’s 2026 Trends and Predictions report here.