Three Key Trends Reshaping Financial Infrastructure in 2026 by Laksh Gangwani, Chief Growth Officer, ViewTrade

As financial services continue to mature, growth is no longer driven by speed alone. By 2026, the future of financial services will be shaped by deeper structural changes – how financial institutions operate, how fintech platforms scale, and how technology is applied across the financial services value chain.

Laksh Gangwani, Chief Growth Officer at ViewTrade, highlights three key financial services trends that are becoming increasingly important for banks, fintech companies, broker-dealers, and embedded finance platforms preparing for what comes next.

1. Middle and Back Office Modernization Becomes a Strategic Priority

One of the most significant financial services trends shaping 2026 is renewed investment in middle and back-office infrastructure. For years, fintech innovation focused primarily on front-end user experiences, while critical middle and back-office systems like operations, settlement, and reporting were often overlooked.

That approach is now giving way to a more fundamental challenge: outdated operational systems.

Why banks are investing in middle and back-office systems

Many banks continue to rely on legacy middle and back-office platforms that were never designed for real-time processing, global scale, or modern regulatory demands. Years of underinvestment have made it difficult to launch new products, improve customer experience, or operate efficiently.

Modernizing middle and back-office systems is no longer optional, it is essential for banks that want to compete with fintech platforms while meeting compliance and risk requirements.

Why fintechs are rethinking fully disclosed models

Financial technology firms, on the other hand, moved quickly by relying on fully disclosed brokerage and banking models that minimized internal operations. While this enabled faster go-to-market strategies, it has proven restrictive as fintechs scale.

To grow sustainably, fintech companies are now investing in their own operational infrastructure, regaining control over data, workflows, and long-term scalability.

By 2026, banks, fintechs, and legacy brokers will converge on the same objective: modern, scalable middle and back-office systems built for growth.

2. Embedded Finance Drives the Rise of Platform-Based Financial Institutions

Another defining trend in financial services is the expansion of embedded finance.

By 2026, nearly every platform whether accounting software, payroll providers, or corporate services platforms will offer financial products and operate as a financial institution in some form.

Why every platform is becoming a financial institution

This shift is driven by several forces:

• Platform founders and investors are seeking new revenue streams and improved profitability
• Banks view platforms as lower-cost customer acquisition channels
• Regulators favour models where banks handle compliance while platforms manage acquisition and servicing

The result is a scalable embedded finance ecosystem that benefits platforms, banks, and customers alike.

Why every financial institution becomes a wealth platform

At the same time, traditional financial institutions payments firms, lending platforms, card issuers, and FX providers are moving toward wealth accumulation services.

Customers increasingly expect financial products to support a single long-term outcome: improving their financial well-being and building wealth over time.

As a result, wealth accumulation is becoming a core function across financial services. Whether labelled as wealth management or not, institutions will be judged by how effectively they help customers grow and preserve capital.

3. AI Delivers Value Internally Before It Transforms Customer Experiences

Artificial intelligence remains a dominant topic across fintech and financial services, but its most meaningful impact will occur behind the scenes.

By 2026, AI adoption will move from pilot programs into full production especially across internal workflows.

Where AI delivers immediate impact

AI in financial services is already improving:

• Operations and reconciliation
• Risk monitoring and fraud detection
• Compliance oversight and exception management
• Decision support across complex workflows

Before transforming customer-facing experiences, AI will first enhance productivity, consistency, and scalability for internal teams.

Preparing for the Future of Financial Services

Together, these three trends define the next phase of financial services transformation:

• Middle and back-office modernization becomes foundational
• Embedded finance turns platforms into financial institutions
• Wealth accumulation becomes a universal objective
• AI proves its value through execution, not experimentation

By 2026, the most successful banks, fintechs, and infrastructure providers will not be defined by how quickly they launch new features, but by how deliberately they build scalable systems, integrate financial services, and apply technology to support long-term growth.