If AI Isn’t Part of Your 2026 Banking Identity, a New Report from Newgen Said It Should Be

By W.B. King

In its latest report, Banking Identity 2026—Invisible, Agentic, and Always On—Newgen Software paints a picture of two distinct financial institutions (FIs). “On one side, there are banks that are investing in pilot projects and technology upgrades with trepidation, testing one function at a time. The other side has FIs focused on precision, performance, and personalization, adopting artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) with a clear roadmap and seizing sizable returns.”

Billed as a provider of an AI-first unified digital transformation platform with native process automation, content services, customer engagement, and AI/ML capabilities, the New Delhi, Delhi-based fintech has offices around the globe, including in Tampa, Fla.

Proactive Financial Action

Citing a May 2025 Boston Consulting Group white paper, For Banks, the AI Reckoning Is Here, the Newgen report said: “Only 25% of financial institutions have successfully integrated AI capabilities into their core strategic operations. The remaining 75% continue to conduct isolated pilots and proof-of-concept. The shift in tech stack must be well-directed to maximize ROI,” adding,  “This strategy will be based on the priority areas for bankers across the globe – going beyond fintech, fraud, and frameworks.”

For the C-level suite, the report noted that the future will be “invisible, always-on banking: that is handled by both generative AI and agentic AI.

“Agentic AI – the engine behind invisible banking – is marking a shift from reactive support to proactive financial action. The global agentic AI market in financial services is likely to grow from $2.1 billion in 2024 to $81 billion by 2034 (as per a market.us report),” the authors stated. “Gear up for a scenario where a team of intelligent agents will assist, decide, initiate, and optimize shopping, payments, and investing. In the back office, they streamline loan approvals, automate compliance, and accelerate workflows. On the customer side, they personalize experiences such as spotting issues like overdrafts and resolving them instantly.”

Another area where AI is expected to dominate is in lending. To this end, the report said that AI can increase automated approvals by approximately 50% and overall decisioning by 70-90%. “An extension to the agentic action in lending is the Unified Lending Interface (ULI), where AI agents interacting across the ULI can autonomously match borrowers with lenders based on dynamic parameters,” the report noted. “Loans become seamlessly embedded in digital journeys, including e-commerce checkouts, bill payments, ride-sharing apps, or housing platforms.”

Agent Payments Protocol

The report stated that by 2029, non-cash payments will be the preferred method of payment—to the tune of $3.5 trillion (worldwide). “Within the embedded payments ecosystem, AI agents can handle contextual payments in smart ecosystems, including voice commands, connected devices, or wearable-driven payments, ensuring security and compliance while maintaining user convenience.”

Noting Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), a framework driven by a Google initiative, AP2 enables agents to conduct transactions securely and verifiably on a user's behalf. The authors further explained that this won’t be simply another payment method.

“By creating cryptographically signed mandates, AP2 provides an unbreakable audit trail for AI-driven transactions, eliminating disputes and chargebacks while unlocking new revenue through "set-and-forget" commerce,” the report noted. “It’s the infrastructure for the next wave of automated business, where AI agents continuously optimize spending and execute standing orders at scale.”

Avoiding the Underlying Gap

For banking professionals, the report stated that an important bridge is being built in 2026, which will fundamentally redefine how members and consumers view their FI.

“This is not a distant vision. It is the operational blueprint emerging from the convergence of today's most potent trends. Over the next few years, more than half of routine banking tasks will be handled by autonomous AI agents, while 70% of transactions will occur through invisible or embedded payment experiences. Security will be reinvented through crypto-led frameworks like PQC and ZKPs, making trust verifiable and breaches a relic of the past,” the report continued. “Many banks understand what needs to be done, but only a few possess the execution velocity to do it at scale. The underlying gap here isn’t strategy but the technology infrastructure to support and accelerate the transformation.”