Financial services has reached an AI tipping point, with only 2% of institutions reporting no AI use, according to Finastra’s Financial Services State of the Nation 2026 report. Sixty percent enhanced AI capabilities in the past year, with 43% naming AI their top innovation driver. Leading use cases include risk and fraud detection (71%), data analytics (71%), customer support (69%), and document management (69%). Security investment is set to rise 40% in 2026, while 87% plan modernization initiatives to scale AI responsibly, improve resilience, and enhance personalized customer experiences.