Plaid’s Upcoming NYC Conference Builds on 2026 Predictions; Focus on AI, Fraud and Intelligent Banking

By W.B. King

As Plaid prepares for its hybrid conference on May 21 at Cipriani in New York City, Finopotamus revisited Plaid’s annual Fintech Predictions, which were published earlier this year. Co-Founder, CEO and report author Zach Perret (along with authors CTO Will Robinson and Chief Product Lead Michelle Young) noted that in 2025 fraud moved to the top of the agenda, while AI shifted “novelty” to infrastructure. “In 2026, the effects of that transition will take center stage,” the authors noted.

Among predictions is that AI chat will become the “default front door” for consumer finance. “As soon as you use AI chat for one use case that works really well, you get curious and start trying others. It’s very, very sticky,” said Perret.

The heaviest use of AI in fintech will come from fraudsters not fintechs, Plaid projects. “AI expands the mandate around fraud. It’s no longer just a fraud or risk team problem—it brings product and engineering into the conversation much earlier,” said Young.

Self-Driving Money Apps

Plaid also predicted that credit scores will become unbundled, noting that traditional credit scores will remain viable. “A credit score doesn’t necessarily tell me whether a borrower is able to pay in the future—and as a lender, I care more about that,” said Perret. Young added: “More sophisticated lenders are going to use multiple scores and signals.”

Another Plaid prediction: self-driving money apps. The first wave of this trend will move past experiments to handle routine financial tasks automatically, the report noted. “Many consumers will find the idea enticing: they will set goals, constraints and risk tolerance, then let the system handle the rest,” the authors said.

“A lot of people are really comfortable with this…and it’s kind of thing that spreads quickly through word of mouth,” added Robinson. Young conceded that she is worried about “the unintended consequences” of automatic decisions.

Conference Rundown

This year’s one-day “The Conference Shaping Intelligent Finance” takes place from 1 – 5 p.m. ET. Among speakers are Perret and Robinson. Sponsors include American Express, T Mobile, Brex, FICO, TD Bank, Copilot Money, Truist, Purpose Financial, MoonPay, Q2 and Credit Genie.

Agenda items include:

• Opening keynote: What's next for AI in finance and what Plaid’s launching to power it.

• Smarter cash advance decisions: Plaid’s new way to spot repayment risk on cash advances.

• Modern fraud prevention: “Plaid Protect's” latest model, built to catch more fraud, not real users.

• Inside “Plaid Income’s” new engine: Turning noisy deposit activity into reliable income signals with AI.

• Making bank payments reliable: Better data and decisioning behind every transaction.

• Powering intelligent finance: A look under the hood at the AI models behind Plaid.

• Bank intelligence for engagement: How banks can use Plaid’s network to engage users and stop fraud.

  
  

To register for the conference, click here.