Fintech 2026: Agentic AI, Tokenization, and the Infrastructure Play
The financial technology landscape is experiencing its most significant transformation since the introduction of mobile payments. As we move deeper into 2026, three interconnected forces are reshaping how money moves, how assets are owned, and who builds the rails that make it all possible.
The Rise of Agentic AI in Payments
Autonomous artificial intelligence is moving from concept to commerce at remarkable speed. Unlike traditional AI assistants that recommend actions, agentic AI can negotiate and settle transactions without direct human intervention.
Major financial institutions and payment businesses are rapidly integrating these systems. The technology enables machines to make autonomous purchasing decisions – a capability that’s accelerating throughout 2026 as trust frameworks and regulatory clarity improve.
This shift represents a fundamental change in payment architecture. When machines can independently transact, the entire stack – from authentication to settlement – must be redesigned. Early adopters are discovering that success requires more than just deploying AI models; it demands new approaches to governance, compliance, and user experience.
Tokenization Goes Mainstream
Asset tokenization – converting ownership rights over real estate, art, commodities, bonds, and other assets into digital tokens on blockchain systems – is transitioning from pilot programs to production deployments.
The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, now fully applicable across member states, has created a framework that’s driving institutional adoption. Financial institutions and fintech companies are pursuing tokenization opportunities with renewed vigor, knowing they operate within clear regulatory boundaries.
The growth of interest in tokenization isn’t stopping at crypto-native assets. Traditional financial institutions are exploring how blockchain technology can reduce settlement times, improve transparency, and create new liquidity opportunities for traditionally illiquid assets.
China’s e-CNY became the world’s first interest-bearing central bank digital currency on January 1, 2026, marking another milestone in the evolution of digital money. While Western central banks remain cautious, the experiment demonstrates how monetary policy tools can integrate with digital infrastructure.
The Infrastructure Gold Rush
Perhaps the most significant trend in fintech is the growing recognition that infrastructure providers – the companies building the pipes rather than the products – represent the most valuable opportunities.
From API providers to cloud platforms, from payment rails to distributed ledger technology, the companies supplying digital infrastructure are attracting outsized investor attention. These firms typically operate outside traditional financial regulation but play increasingly essential roles in the functioning of financial services.
The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), which became effective in January 2025, is bringing these “ICT service providers” into regulatory purview across the EU. The framework emphasizes threat-led penetration testing, vendor oversight, and incident reporting – requirements that will shape how infrastructure companies operate throughout 2026.
M&A Activity Accelerates
After several quiet years, fintech mergers and acquisitions are heating up. Multiple factors are driving consolidation:
Market Maturity: Saturation in consumer fintech tools is pushing smaller companies toward strategic exits while successful players expand through acquisition.
Regulatory Pressure: Compliance demands and capital constraints, particularly for smaller fintechs, are making standalone operation increasingly difficult.
Profitability Pressures: Companies with novel products or large customer bases are seeking additional capital while implementing inorganic growth strategies.
Recent notable transactions include Lloyds acquiring Curve, Starling Bank purchasing Ember, and speculation about long-rumored IPOs for Stripe, Revolut, and Monzo potentially materializing in 2026.
Stablecoins Process Unprecedented Volume
Stablecoins processed $9 trillion in payments during 2025, an 87% increase from 2024. The trajectory suggests these dollar-denominated cryptocurrencies are becoming serious competition for traditional correspondent banking systems.
Small and medium businesses in emerging markets across Latin America and the Middle East/Africa are increasingly sidestepping local currency volatility by settling B2B invoices directly in stablecoins over layer-2 blockchains. Settlement times drop from three days to three seconds – a difference that’s proving transformative for international commerce.
The trend has profound implications for traditional banking infrastructure and forex markets, as businesses discover they can conduct international transactions without touching the conventional financial system.
The Compliance Imperative
As AI adoption accelerates across financial services, regulatory technology (regtech) firms emphasize that systems must be used safely, consistently, and in line with regulatory expectations.
John Byrne, CEO of Corlytics, predicts 2026 will see “the emergence of AI discipline” as regulators shift from guidance to enforcement. Organizations need systems that prove their decisions are accurate, governed, and defensible – not just fast.
The firms that succeed will resist the trade-off between speed and precision, taking an “ensemble approach” that enhances decision-making without sacrificing accuracy. This philosophy reflects a broader industry realization: trust compounds slowly, and treating compliance as core infrastructure rather than a layer to automate is essential for long-term success.
B2B Infrastructure Over Consumer Apps
Investor dollars are flowing overwhelmingly toward B2B infrastructure rather than consumer-facing applications. The consensus among venture capitalists: consumer fintech is oversaturated, and the real opportunities lie in solving institutional problems.
Community banks competing against national institutions need sophisticated technology platforms. Large financial institutions require AI-powered tools that integrate with legacy systems. Payments companies need next-generation rails that can handle both traditional and blockchain-based transactions.
The founders succeeding in this environment are those solving hard institutional problems rather than building another consumer app.
Regulatory Evolution Drives Innovation
Far from being just a constraint, regulation is becoming a driver of innovation. New frameworks around open finance, payment services, and digital assets are creating opportunities for companies that can navigate complexity while delivering value.
The proposed Financial Data Access (FIDA) Regulation in the EU will extend open banking principles to insurance, pensions, and other financial products. Though adoption is 18-24 months away, forward-thinking companies are already positioning for the expanded data-sharing ecosystem.
What It Means for the Industry
The fintech landscape in 2026 is characterized by maturation rather than revolution. The foundational technologies – blockchain, AI, cloud architecture – are proven. The question now is execution: who can build reliable, compliant, scalable systems that create genuine value?
The answer increasingly appears to be infrastructure players and B2B-focused companies rather than consumer apps. As the industry moves from pilot to production, from ambition to discipline, the winners will be those that treat financial technology as precisely that – technology for finance, built with the rigor, compliance, and reliability that the financial system demands.
For investors, entrepreneurs, and financial institutions, the message is clear: the infrastructure play is where value accrues, practical solutions beat ambitious visions, and regulatory sophistication is a competitive advantage, not a burden.