Banking Digital Services: Advancing AI‑Native, Resilient, and Customer‑Centric Banking Through Digital Modernization

Banking enterprises are reimagining customer engagement for digitally native consumers, shifting to digital‑first models across the banking life cycle. They are deploying Gen AI and agentic AI across core value streams—from credit memo generation and loan origination to intelligent KYC/AML workflows and real‑time fraud detection. In parallel, banks are investing in real‑time payments enablement and composable orchestration platforms. They are modernizing legacy cores through cloud‑native side‑core and dual‑core architectures. Additionally, banks are embedding compliance‑by‑design into digital platforms, leveraging AI‑driven regulatory intelligence and automated transaction monitoring to strengthen operational resilience.

Both demand-side and supply-side trends are covered in our Banking Digital Services 2026 Market Insights™ and Banking Digital Services 2026 RadarView™, respectively. These reports present a comprehensive study of digital service providers in the banking industry, including top trends, analysis, and recommendations. The RadarView also takes a close look at the leaders, innovators, disruptors, challengers, and tech pioneers in this market.

We evaluated 68 service providers across two dimensions: practice maturity and future-proofing, including partner ecosystem and investments and innovation. Of the 68 providers, we recognized 30 that brought the most value to the market over the past 12 months.

The reports recognize service providers across five categories:

• • Leaders: Accenture, Capgemini, Cognizant, HCLTech, IBM, Infosys, TCS, and Wipro
  • Innovators: Atos, FIS Global, Hitachi Digital Services, LTM, Tech Mahindra, Virtusa, and Zensar
  • Disruptors: DXC, Genpact, GFT, Infinite Computer Solutions, Mphasis, and Persistent Systems
  • Challengers: Birlasoft, Coforge, EXL, Happiest Minds, Mastek, and UST
  • Tech Pioneers: Finastra, Intellect Design, and Temenos

Figure 1 below from the full report illustrates these categories:

“As digitally native consumers demand seamless experiences across the entire banking life cycle, the branch-led model is rapidly giving way to AI-driven, always-on engagement,” said Robert Joslin, managing partner at Avasant. “Banks must accelerate core modernization, embed compliance-by-design, and deploy agentic AI at every customer touchpoint.”

The reports provide several findings, including the following:

• • New-age digital expectations are reshaping banking engagement models toward digital-first servicing and selective human intervention.
  • Rapid Gen AI and agentic AI adoption is transforming banking operations from customer servicing to autonomous workflow orchestration.
  • Legacy core constraints are driving adoption of composable, cloud-native, and side-core architectures to improve agility and ecosystem integration.
  • Rising demand for instant payments and cross-border interoperability is driving real-time, multi-rail payment modernization.
  • Escalating financial crime and regulatory complexity are driving banks to strengthen cyber resilience and compliance capabilities.
  • Embedded finance, digital banking, and real-time payment ecosystems are driving financial inclusion beyond traditional banking channels.

“As customer expectations and regulatory complexity intensify, banks are rearchitecting operations around agentic AI, real‑time payments, and embedded compliance,” said Payel Maity, lead analyst at Avasant. “Modernizing legacy cores through side‑core strategies while scaling intelligence across the value chain is now a competitive imperative.”

The RadarView also features detailed profiles of 30 service providers, along with their solutions, offerings, and experience, assisting banking enterprises in their digital transformation journeys.

This Research Byte provides a brief overview of Avasant’s Banking Digital Services 2026 Market Insights™ and Banking Digital Services 2026 RadarView™ (click for pricing).