Artificial intelligence (AI), stablecoins, tokenised assets and digital identity solutions are among the major trends accelerating transformation across the global fintech and payments industry in 2026, according to a new report by Juniper Research.
The research firm, in its latest report titled “Top 10 Fintech & Payments Trends Update 2026”, assessed the progress of 10 key trends it identified at the end of 2025 as likely to define the direction of the fintech ecosystem this year.
The report, which provides a mid-year review of developments across banking, digital payments, business-to-business (B2B) transactions and financial technologies, found that several predicted trends have recorded significant progress in the first half of 2026, with AI emerging as the dominant force driving innovation across multiple segments.
Juniper Research said the growing adoption of artificial intelligence is beginning to reshape how consumers shop, how banks manage operations and how financial institutions tackle fraud.
One of the strongest developments identified in the report is the rise of agentic commerce, where AI systems move beyond assisting customers with product searches to actively supporting purchasing decisions.
The research firm noted that AI-powered shopping has gained traction among merchants, with AI-driven traffic to Shopify stores increasing by 800 per cent in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025.
It added that AI search tools are also generating stronger conversion rates than traditional organic search, indicating that consumers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence platforms to discover products and make purchasing decisions.
Beyond commerce, Juniper Research said AI is becoming deeply embedded in banking operations, particularly in fraud prevention, customer onboarding and internal workflow automation.
The report highlighted that banks are increasingly moving away from basic AI assistants towards more advanced systems capable of analysing transactions in real time and supporting critical financial decisions.
Meanwhile, stablecoins are gaining momentum as a potential alternative to traditional cross-border settlement systems, as financial institutions continue to seek faster, cheaper and more efficient methods of moving money globally.
Juniper Research said existing interbank settlement networks continue to face challenges linked to cost, speed and complexity, creating opportunities for blockchain-based solutions that can improve the efficiency of international payments.
The report identified the launch of Open USD, a stablecoin built on open infrastructure, as a significant milestone in the evolution of digital settlement systems. The platform has attracted support from major global technology and payments companies, including Stripe, Visa, Mastercard, Coinbase and Google, and is designed to facilitate money movement among banks, fintech companies, payment providers and emerging AI-driven commerce platforms.
Beyond developed markets, stablecoins are also gaining traction across Africa, where they are increasingly being explored as a tool for improving cross-border payments, remittances and access to digital dollar liquidity.
In Nigeria, Africa’s largest fintech market, stablecoins have emerged as an important channel for international transactions amid challenges around foreign exchange availability and the high cost of cross-border transfers. A report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) identified Nigeria as the largest destination for stablecoin inflows in sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting the growing role of digital dollar-pegged assets in payments and trade activities.
The momentum around stablecoin adoption is also attracting major African fintech players. Flutterwave recently partnered with Tempo, a blockchain network focused on payments infrastructure, to accelerate the use of stablecoin-powered payments and settlement solutions across Africa.
The research also highlighted the growing importance of tokenised assets, as financial institutions explore blockchain technology to represent ownership of real-world assets such as property and other investments digitally.
According to Juniper Research, tokenisation could help address liquidity challenges affecting traditional asset markets. It noted that Ripple reported a more than 2,000 per cent increase in tokenised assets on the XRP Ledger between the start and end of 2025, rising from $25 million to $568 million.
In the digital identity space, the report pointed to the expected expansion of the European Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet as governments and businesses seek more secure ways to verify users online.
The initiative, supported by the European Union’s updated electronic identification framework, requires member states to make at least one digital identity wallet available to citizens by 2026, a move Juniper Research expects will accelerate adoption of digital identity solutions across Europe.
The report further noted that rising cyber threats, particularly AI-generated deepfakes, are driving increased investment in AI-powered fraud prevention tools.
Juniper Research said financial institutions are now exploring defensive AI solutions, including identity verification systems, transaction monitoring tools and advanced analytics capable of identifying fraud patterns.
It cited NVIDIA’s finding that 65 per cent of financial institutions were already using AI as of June 2026, adding that banks are increasingly looking to combine multiple AI systems into unified platforms for fraud detection and credit assessment.
Other trends identified by the report include the growing adoption of flexible payment cards, which allow customers to access multiple funding sources through a single card; increased use of commercial Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs) to expand Pay by Bank services in the United Kingdom; wider deployment of no-code anti-money laundering solutions; and the rising role of virtual cards in travel payments.
Juniper Research said online travel agencies are increasingly becoming the merchant of record for transactions, using virtual cards to settle payments with suppliers while gaining greater control over the payment process.
Looking ahead, the research firm expects AI to remain the biggest driver of fintech transformation in the second half of 2026, particularly in commerce, fraud prevention and payment routing.
It said the rapid deployment of AI across financial services would continue to create new opportunities while forcing industry players to adapt their strategies around automation, security and digital payments innovation.
