Top fintech trends for H2’26

Looking ahead to the second half of 2026, we remain optimistic about the fintech market, particularly given the speed at which it continues to evolve, expand and grow. While some regulations are taking time to be finalized, infrastructure is being built, institutional investors and corporates are embracing the stablecoins and digital assets space, and emerging markets continue to attract attention. While geopolitical tensions and the macroeconomic environment continue to pose challenges, and the exit environment remains soft for the moment, there are a lot of hopeful signs suggesting the second half of 2026 will build upon the results seen in the first half 2026.

Here are the top predictions for fintech in H2’26

Infrastructure becoming a major investment priority

With the growing focus on stablecoins and digital assets, including the need to grow and scale solutions regionally and globally, infrastructure is likely to become a major priority for investors. While there will be a strong focus on infrastructure related to stablecoins and digital assets, interest will likely be broader as traditional financial institutions across regions increasingly focus on improving their core infrastructure to become more competitive and to better protect their data and core operations.
Interest in AI strengthening but becoming more value driven

AI is likely to continue to attract very large investment across sectors; however, given the increasing realizations being made as to the cost of AI, this investment will likely increasingly shift from pilot projects to investments and startups able to prove their ability to create value. AI native startups will likely see increasing interest as investors look for AI startups with unique, defensible value propositions.
Agentic commerce driving interest in a range of related areas, including cybersecurity

As agentic commerce, the use of AI agents to shop and make transactions on behalf of individuals and companies, continues to grow, there will likely be increasing investment in ancillary activities, including cybersecurity and digital identity management in order to ensure such transactions are approved, safeguarded, and well-protected from bad actors. Payments solutions and infrastructure focused on agentic commerce will likely also attract investment.
Consolidation intensifying, particularly in payments space

Consolidation will likely intensify within fintech sub-sectors, particularly payments, as winners continue to make their presence known. PE investors will likely become increasingly more active, looking for opportunities to roll-up and consolidate distressed companies that haven’t been able to attract investment or market share in order to make them competitive.
Development of sovereign capabilities to support fintech ecosystems:

The growing focus on sovereign capabilities globally, in areas like AI and defense, will likely extend into the financial services market, with a growing focus on the development of sovereign and regional solutions in areas like digital identity management, cybersecurity, and other financial services infrastructure.