Therefore, the robot guardian stays very far away. But S&P Global estimates that up to 59% of financial institutions worldwide are actively using artificial intelligence by 2025. Without relying on research technology (“Summarize the new anti-money laundering orders for me”), financial institutions have started to use AI processes.
This is a remarkable development. Instead of using AI as a smart chatbot, banks are now directing systems to perform complex, multi-step tasks—saving countless human hours while both speeding up and improving operations.
How does this new type of AI (called “agent AI”) work?
Consider loan processing as an example. Someone applies for a loan. AI agents receive credit reports, verify income, calculate credit and income ratios, apply underwriting rules, approve or reject applications (or forward them to a human underwriter for approval), and create documents. In monitoring compliance, agents can read regulatory documents, map new directives to internal policies and procedures, identify where a financial institution (FI) is failing, perform corrective actions, and track progress.
For evidence of AI's rising performance, take a look at some of the innovations that have emerged from the world's best fintech labs, incubators, and accelerators.
At inovabra, a lab hosted by Banco Bradesco, inventors have created an AI product that can generate the first draft of legal petitions. Bank of Georgia's AI Research Lab presents Software Developer: Powered by Code2Doc.
This software can write other software. And Garanti BBVA Partners has developed Skymod, an AI-orchestration platform that enables financial institutions to securely assign operational workflows to intelligent AI agents.
Knowing When AI Is Not the Solution
Then there's TD Lab. TD Lab is now experimenting with Physical AI, or AI-embedded machines (think robots, drones, and smart devices) that can interact with the virtual world.
“Body AI is about convergence,” said Chris Halabecki, the lab's senior manager and leader. “It's about combining AI with things that can sense or control the real world. As a lab group, we're exploring how we can use virtual AI to integrate more intelligence into everyday situations to better serve our partners and customers today and in the future.”
The lab is already developing proprietary software for a quadruped (robot dog) device. Using LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), which is a sensor technology that uses pulsed laser light to measure distances, and AI together, the quadruped can see and learn about objects in the environment, and then follow commands connected to those objects. Halabecki gave examples like “Go to the white couch” and “Go find Evan.”
Future use cases for this technology could include robots that can count, sort, and validate money.
One day, robotic relationship managers can see when a customer walks into a branch and guide them in making investment decisions. In the field, physical AI may be able to perform household inspections and complete other tasks.
With artificial intelligence capabilities abounding in ballyhood, it's surprising to hear Kadry Boutaina, chief of digital transformation innovation lab at Moroccan bank Attijariwafa, say, “Sometimes, the answer isn't AI.”
That doesn't mean the lab, called Wenov, isn't making technological advances. It works with foreign startups to provide “additional digital services to our customers – both retail and business.” Boutaina notes that Attijariwafa faces a lot of competition in this sector, from both established banks and newcomers – especially neobanks entering the Moroccan and wider West African markets.
But providing digital services doesn't always involve a complete AI revolution.
When Banks Let Employees Invent
The Moroccan Ministry of Economy and Finance has recently formalized the rules governing fundraising in the country. The first regulated platform of its kind is offered by Kiwi Collecte, a fintech company. Under Moroccan law, Kiwi Collecte cannot hold or transfer funds directly. It must cooperate with a licensed Moroccan bank for those activities. Partnering with Attijariwafa empowers the bank to hold and secure funds, process payments, and disburse funds to beneficiaries.
Fraud prevention is always important. Sandbox CAIXA has found an old-school way to combat it. Sandbox CAIXA is the innovation lab of Caixa Econômica Federal, the largest state bank in Brazil. Lucas Zaccaro, manager of Sandbox CAIXA, said that in his country, people without technical knowledge are often victimized by fraudsters. When the bank is closed, the thieves stand near the ATMs. Then they offer to help patrons who aren't sure how to use the machines. These criminals “help” by tricking users into revealing their PINs, then stealing their cards.
A “really good idea” from Caixa's top staff led the bank to broadcast recorded messages at 10 of these ATMs, warning patrons of the scam. The thefts from those banks have stopped.
Zaccaro says the fraud prevention idea was delivered through an established process designed to encourage rank-and-file employees to come up with new ideas. Employees use Microsoft Copilot to develop their concepts and submit them to Sandbox CAIXA for review and testing. The lab will now test whether it's possible to issue a fraud alert on the ATM network—possibly using cameras to detect where people are at the ATM and triggering automated messages.
At the Banking and Financial Institutions Association of Colombia (Asobancaria), the focus is less on developing technology and more on meeting existing public needs. One development from the Asobancaria Social Innovation Lab is a reference framework for identifying, categorizing, and reporting on social portfolios for the banking sector. This proposal—the second of its kind in Latin America after the Social Taxonomy of Guatemala—was developed through many sessions of analysis, technical feedback, and validation across the sector and member institutions. To create this framework, Asobancaria worked closely with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), which develops social portfolio standards in line with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.
Andrea Guzmán, GGGI's sustainable financial officer, said that the problem of sustainability reporting among Asobancaria's member banks is the lack of standardization of standards, with each bank setting its own measures of success in its public portfolio.
This framework addresses issues such as financial inclusion, public infrastructure, affordable housing, and services for small and medium enterprises. One framework that all member banks agree on “improves operational transparency,” Guzmán said. “It supports better decision-making by investors and helps mobilize more resources for our social sector. It's a framework we can base bonds on. It's a framework that helps banks avoid being accused of laundering.”
Consider a framework for sustainable and affordable housing. Guzmán notes that in rural Colombia, many houses do not have running water and may only have dirt floors. Therefore, a bank can seek success in affordable housing if it finances units that have wooden floors, have full water pipes and are connected to the electricity grid. But what if those apartments are so far from public transportation that no one can go to work or school? Guzmán said that under this framework, banks agree that any affordable housing projects they finance will have access to the country's foreign infrastructure and public services.
Here's a closer look at some of the world's leading fintech labs and the innovations they're developing.
2026 Best Innovation Labs
Meet the winners
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The post Labs Rethink Rethink Banking: The Best Financial Innovation Labs 2026 appeared first on Global Finance Magazine.
