Trends to watch for banking & fintech in 2025

In this exclusive Q&A, FinTech Magazine speaks to Jason Osborne, the banking and capital markets leader for North America at Genpact, who delivers his insights on the evolution of the banking and fintech industries for 2025.

First and foremost, I expect to see a strategic pivot in how banks and financial institutions approach both risk management and customer experience.

In the midst of rapidly changing regulations, banks will have to prioritize investment in artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities that can provide risk mitigation in addition to business growth.

Investment in data infrastructure, compliance automation, and talent acquisition will be critical in the year ahead to navigate the regulatory landscape.

For customer-centric organizations, the focus will be on breaking down silos to establish a customer-first mindset that permeates all levels. AI will serve as the backbone for delivering faster, smarter, and more personalized customer experiences.

Those who integrate AI into their workflows, culture, and training programs will thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Ultimately, AI is becoming a critical differentiator – whether it's in managing complex regulatory changes or delighting customers with seamless experiences. Organizations that adapt quickly and embrace AI holistically will have the edge in 2025 and beyond.

Consumers expect customer care agents to get their problems fixed the first time, every time. The desire for instantaneous, effective support will only heighten in 2025.

Organizations must already be offering education and training on how AI can be embedded into workflows to improve customer experience. A customer-first, AI-enabled culture is crucial across all departments.

The future of customer support isn't about replacing human agents with AI but enhancing them.

By equipping support teams with AI-driven insights, chatbots, and virtual assistants, organizations can enable human agents to focus on complex, emotionally nuanced issues while AI handles routine queries.

This leads to faster resolutions, increased customer satisfaction, and reduced support costs.

In 2025, one exciting step for customer experience will be leveraging AI to predict customer needs even before they express them. AI-powered predictive analytics can analyze past behaviors, preferences, and real-time interactions to tailor solutions, whether it's proactive issue resolution or personalized product recommendations.

Embedding AI into the organization's DNA means cross-departmental training. Customer care, marketing, technology, and even finance teams should be educated on how to leverage AI tools.

By integrating AI into various workflows, companies can foster a culture of continuous improvement where every department contributes to customer satisfaction.

AI systems are only as good as the data fed into them. To stay ahead, organizations must implement continuous learning mechanisms where feedback from customer interactions refines AI algorithms.

This ensures that AI becomes more effective over time and adapts to evolving customer expectations.

Finally, as AI becomes more integral to customer experiences, transparency and ethical AI practices will be crucial. Customers will expect to understand how their data is used, and organizations that prioritize ethical AI deployment will earn greater trust and loyalty.

As we see proposed regulations like Basel III Endgame continue to evolve, banks are looking to optimize risk models to address every component of potential deals. This will necessitate strengthening data and analytics capabilities through AI.

In addition to optimizing individual risk models, banks are shifting toward integrated risk management. This means AI will not only assess credit or market risk but also synthesize multiple risk categories (e.g., liquidity, operational, and compliance risks) into a unified view.

Banks that leverage AI for predictive risk simulations will gain a competitive advantage by forecasting outcomes and adjusting strategies pre-emptively.

Basel III Endgame will also necessitate enhanced data integrity. Banks will need to build real-time, AI-driven analytics platforms that integrate seamlessly with risk management tools, enabling continuous monitoring of risk exposures.

Regulatory compliance isn't just about meeting current standards but being proactive in anticipating new changes.

Optimizing risk management won't just be about analytics. It will also involve automating risk reporting and regulatory compliance processes to reduce costs and improve speed.

This is where machine learning algorithms can automate the identification of risk anomalies, fraud detection, and stress testing – freeing up human resources for strategic decision-making.

With the increased reliance on AI and data analytics, banks will need to invest heavily in upskilling their teams. Expect to see banks hiring data scientists, risk technologists, and AI ethicists who can balance compliance with innovation.

I also expect to see a greater focus in the coming year on ensuring the entire organization has a comprehensive view of its data. Improving data visibility across the organization is critical to avoiding silos and keeping every department aware of how their decisions are impacting the business.

The article first appeared in FinTech Magazine.