FinTechs Bet on AI and Lending to Drive Modernization

FinTech companies are betting on artificial intelligence and lending to modernize their operations, according to earnings reports from Jack Henry, FIS, and nCino. Jack Henry reported a 59% increase in core, digital banking and card capabilities in its 58 core wins during fiscal 2026, with 14 wins involving institutions with over $1 billion in assets.

The company also saw a 25% increase in Zelle, 24% in RTP® network, and 29% in FedNow® Service adoption among its clients. Payments and cloud conversions are continuing alongside AI applications, with Jack Henry signing 36 contracts to move institutions to its private cloud, with 79% of its core clients now operating in the cloud.

FIS reported that over 30 clients have adopted modernized components of its Total Issuing Solutions platform, with AI increasing engineering throughput by 1.5 to 2 times, reducing software defects by about 30%, and cutting manual tickets by roughly 70%. nCino highlighted AI use in lending and credit operations, such as a "locate and file" capability that can save an enterprise customer over $5.5 million annually.

The use cases align with a broader trend of financial services firms actively deploying AI across 27 of 75 tasks, with adoption at 65% for revenue recognition and accounting close, and 60% for credit risk assessment and sales forecasting. The main obstacle to further AI deployment is data quality and fragmentation, cited by 30% of firms, followed by internal skills and talent at 15%, budget and resource constraints at 10%, and integration with existing systems at 10%.