Banking Leaders’ Prepare for Anticipated Disruption from AI and Cyber Investments Increase: KPMG Survey

NEW YORK, June 17, 2026 – Driven by the unrelenting pace of artificial intelligence (AI) advancement, banking leaders’ expect significant shifts in their business models in the future. 80% of banking executives now expect AI to significantly disrupt their business and operating models in the next three-five years and are taking steps to prepare today, according to new findings from the 2026 Banking Technology Survey from KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm.

The surge in expectations highlights the growing awareness of AI ambition and the need to manage emerging risks, reshaping how banks prioritize cybersecurity investment, modernization, and M&A strategy.

“What we’re seeing across the banking sector is a convergence of priorities — AI, payments modernization, cybersecurity, and tech-driven M&A are no longer separate agendas,” said Peter Torrente, KPMG US Banking Sector Leader. “That shift exposes the challenge to keep pace across technology, risk, and growth simultaneously.”

Key Findings and Emerging Gaps:

• Banks are increasing cybersecurity budgets to address the evolving threat landscape, safeguarding customer privacy:
  • 76% of banking executives said they have seen an increase in the number of cybersecurity attacks on their banks in the last year. In response, 92% of banking leaders are increasing their budgets to address cyber risk. Additionally, 84% are increasing cybersecurity investment specifically to address risks introduced by AI. 
  • The top emerging threats for banks include AI-introduced vulnerabilities in code (63%), deepfakes (62%), AI bots (57%), and securing agentic technologies (50%).
  • To ensure data security, privacy, and compliance in the era of GenAI, banks are implementing regular audits (80%), robust security measures (79%), and collaborating with external experts (59%). 
• Payments and IT functions are in a state of active reinvention: 
  • Banking leaders report they are looking to modernize their Wires (20%) and ACH (26%) Platforms and looking to implement Instant Payments – RTP (70%) and FedNow (72%) over the next year.
  • Banks’ approaches to integrating digital assets into payment systems diverge sharply by size. Among leaders from institutions with $100 billion or more in assets, 71% prioritize designing interoperable systems for tokenized deposits and stablecoins, compared with just 24% of respondents overall.
  • Banking leaders report the key drivers contributing to modernization of payments platforms and systems are cost reduction or operational efficiency (82%), regulatory requirements (68%), legacy systems (59%), and changing customer expectations (57%). 
  • While only 32% of banking leaders say they are using AI-enabled biometrics to secure payments and access management currently, 72% plan to utilize the technology over the next three years.
  • 71% of banking leaders (compared to just 46% in 2025) agree that their organizations need to invest in modernizing platforms to bring new or enhanced products and services to the market.
• Bank M&A is increasingly tech-centric and capability-driven, cybersecurity poses the biggest integration risk:
  • Technology is central to bank M&A, with 77% of bank executives viewing it as a primary driver or one of several key factors in acquisition strategy over the next 2-3 years.
  • The top technology-related objectives deemed most important when evaluating M&A opportunities are acquiring data, analytics or AI capabilities (67%), strengthening cybersecurity or risk capabilities (65%), followed by accelerating core banking platform modernization (46%), and expanding digital or customer experience capabilities (45%).
  • The biggest technology integration risks from banks include core banking platforms (56%), cybersecurity and identity access management (55%), data architecture and integration (51%), and regulatory or risk technology (50%). In contrast, payments platforms are seen as low risk (4%). 

About the Survey

The KPMG 2026 Banking Technology Survey features insights from 200 U.S. banking executives on how banks are setting information technology, data and transformation priorities.

About KPMG LLP
KPMG LLP is the U.S. member firm of the KPMG global organization of independent member firms providing audit, tax and advisory services. The KPMG global organization operates in 138 countries and territories and has more than 276,000 people working in member firms around the world. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such. KPMG International Limited is a private English company limited by guarantee. KPMG International Limited and its related entities do not provide services to clients.

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