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The fintech landscape is transforming faster than at any point in the last decade. According to the 2025 Global Fintech Report by PwC, over 72% of all new banking products launched in 2025 used AI-driven decision engines—either for credit scoring, fraud detection, or customer onboarding.
By mid-2026, this trend is expected to accelerate even further. McKinsey’s Digital Payments Forecast shows that real-time payments will account for 44% of all global transactions, up from just 18% in 2023. This shift is fueled by new instant-settlement rails in the EU (SEPA Instant), FedNow expansion in the U.S., and Brazil’s continued dominance with PIX.
Another major change: the slow decline of traditional bank accounts. A 2025 Accenture survey found that 39% of Gen Z and Millennials prefer “account-less finance”—wallet-based systems where money moves instantly without routing numbers or IBANs. Platforms like Revolut, Wise, Nubank, and Cash App are building ecosystems where users hold spending balances instead of classical checking accounts.
Experts warn that while fintech is becoming smarter, faster, and more accessible, risks are growing too. Fraud attempts rose 18% year-over-year, and AI-powered scams doubled during 2025, creating pressure for advanced biometric and behavioral security models.
Fintech in 2026 is clear: AI-first, instant-everything, and borderless by default — and traditional banks are already struggling to keep up.
