Artificial intelligence has become a core driver of revenue growth, efficiency, and competitive advantage in the financial industry.
According to NVIDIA’s 2026 AI in Financial Services Survey, which gathered insights from more than 800 industry professionals worldwide, artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in financial services has entered a new phase of maturity. The findings show that AI is moving decisively from pilot programs into full-scale production, reshaping how financial institutions operate, serve customers, and manage risk.
The survey reveals that 65% of financial institutions are now actively using AI, a sharp increase from 45% in the previous year, signaling that AI has become embedded in day-to-day operations rather than confined to experimentation. As for the type of AI tools preferred by financial players, 61% of respondents are using or evaluating generative AI, while 42% are exploring or deploying agentic AI systems, highlighting growing interest in more autonomous, decision-driven technologies.
Crucially, AI adoption is delivering measurable business impact. Nearly nine in ten respondents (89%) reported that AI is helping both to increase revenues and reduce operating costs. Financial institutions cited gains such as improved fraud detection, faster document processing, more accurate risk modeling, and enhanced customer service automation. The first use case is one of the most promising, with AI fraud detection tools predicted to prevent over $60B in financial losses this year alone. Many organizations also reported revenue growth exceeding 5%, alongside meaningful productivity improvements across back-office and frontline teams.
AI is also becoming a strategic priority at the executive level. 73% of leaders surveyed said AI is critical to their organization’s future success, and almost all respondents indicated that AI budgets will increase or remain stable over the coming year. This suggests that financial firms view AI not as a discretionary technology investment, but as foundational infrastructure.
Another notable trend is the rising importance of open-source AI models and software, with 84% of respondents saying they play a key role in their AI strategies. Open ecosystems are enabling banks and fintechs to customize models using proprietary data, address regulatory requirements, and avoid vendor lock-in while accelerating innovation.
Use cases are expanding well beyond early applications too. AI is now widely deployed across fraud prevention, anti-money laundering, credit assessment, algorithmic trading, customer engagement, and operational automation. The survey indicates that institutions are increasingly focused on scaling these solutions reliably and securely, rather than simply testing new ideas.
