KPMG just released its 2026 Banking Technology Survey
KPMG just dropped its 2026 Banking Technology Survey, and the numbers show exactly where bank executives are putting their money this year. Technology remains central to how banks compete, operate, and grow. The KPMG report reveals where institutions are increasing spend, where they are modernizing core capabilities, and how they are responding to emerging pressures across cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence (AI), payments and data.
If you are tracking fintech, payments, or digital banking infrastructure, here is what you actually need to know from the data:
– Cybersecurity is consuming the budget. A massive 89% of banking leaders say security and fraud prevention is their absolute top priority for the next 12 months. Cyberattacks are getting more complex, forcing 90% of banks to pull GenAI into their active defensive and fraud detection loops.
– AI is out of the sandbox. GenAI spending is officially a strategic requirement, jumping to 73% this year from 61% in 2025. Right now, nobody is looking at AI to magically grow revenue, it’s entirely about fixing data quality, cutting operational friction, and automating back-office processes.
– Large banks are moving on-chain. The passage of the GENIUS Act has put stablecoin services directly on the institutional map. While small banks are waiting, 71% of Tier-1 institutions ($100B+ in assets) are already designing interoperable systems to handle tokenized deposits and stablecoins.
– Payments modernization is non-negotiable. Upgrades are moving fast, specifically toward instant infrastructure like FedNow (72%) and RTP (70%) to keep up with non-bank competitors.
– M&A is now a tech play. 33% of banks say technology is the primary driver behind their acquisition strategies. They aren’t buying market share; they are buying data/AI capabilities (67%) and better risk frameworks (65%).
The big takeaway? You can’t build advanced automated workflows or deploy reliable AI tools on top of messy data infrastructure. The banks winning right now are the ones cleaning up their internal data oceans before trying to scale next-gen products.
