Accenture’s six big trends in banking, 2026

As you do, I just stumbled upon another report that’s interesting. This one is Accenture’s view on six big trends that will change banking in 2026. You can download the whole report (81 pages) here but, if you don’t have time, here’s a brief summary:

Accenture: Top Banking Trends for 2026 — Key Insights & Strategic Guide

Core theme:
Banking is entering an era of “Unconstrained Banking” — where traditional barriers are dissolving and new technologies, especially agentic and generative AI, digital assets, and modern platforms, are reshaping how banks create value.

1. The Future of Money — “Dumb Money Gets Smarter”

• Digital currencies (CBDCs, stablecoins, tokenized deposits) are moving into mainstream use.
• Money will become programmable and intelligent, enabling automated, optimized transactions.
• Banks face both risk and opportunity: alternative payment rails could divert revenue, but smarter money systems can create new roles for banks.

Strategic actions:

• Define and clarify a digital currency strategy (issuer, custodian, facilitator).
• Modernize infrastructure to support interoperable, secure digital money.

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2. The Future of Experience — “Banking Everywhere It Matters”

• AI-powered interfaces (including GPT-like assistants) will redefine customer interaction.
• Customers expect contextual, conversational, real-time experiences wherever they engage.
• Physical branches remain important as trust anchors even as digital channels expand.

Strategic actions:

• Build “intent engines” that unify experiences across channels.
• Embed AI assistants with clear controls and guardrails.
• Explore micro-branch or smart booth formats to blend physical and digital.

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3. The Future of Work & Talent — “Agentic AI Shatters Capacity Barriers”

• Agentic AI will enable dramatic productivity gains — one person supported by AI agents can do the work of many.
• Workforce design will shift from task-based roles to AI-augmented outcomes.
• Leadership, governance, and reskilling are critical for effective human–AI collaboration.

Strategic actions:

• Make AI a CEO-level priority.
• Design workflows based on business intent, not traditional roles.
• Build AgentOps functions to manage and govern AI agent deployment.

4. The Future of Technology — “The High Cost of Low Cost”

• Legacy tech and technical debt are unsustainable; technology spending is growing faster than revenue.
• AI, composable architectures, and open-source tools can accelerate modernization.
• Resilient, modular systems are essential to reduce costs and support innovation.

Strategic actions:

• Use AI across the software lifecycle.
• Embrace open-source and modular design.
• Simplify infrastructure and strengthen AI governance.

5. The Future of Risk & Regulation — “Seeing the Big Picture”

• Risk and compliance must evolve from siloed functions to continuous, embedded capabilities.
• Real-time visibility, integrated risk data, and proactive risk leadership become competitive advantages.

Strategic actions:

• Integrate risk across functions and ecosystems.
• Use real-time analytics for agility and foresight.

6. The Future of Competition — Redefining the Bank’s Edge

• Traditional banking advantages (like deposit-driven balance sheets) are under pressure.
• Customers are ready to switch services; new players and ecosystems are emerging outside classic bank offerings.
• Banks must reinvent themselves as ecosystem orchestrators rather than product factories.

Strategic actions:

• Build life-event ecosystems (e.g., home buying, financial planning).
• Compete as execution engines for standardized products, while owning advice-rich experiences.

Overall Takeaway

Accenture’s 2026 banking trends highlight a fundamental shift: AI, digital money, and customer-centric experiences are rewriting banking’s future. Success in 2026 will depend on:

• Modernising tech and talent around AI,
• Redefining risk and regulatory approaches,
• Reinventing customer experiences beyond traditional banking channels, and
• Reshaping competitive advantage through ecosystems and intelligent money.

You can download the full report here.