FinovateEurope 2025, recently held in London, showcased the significant role that AI agents and generative AI, known as genAI, are playing in transforming financial services. This year’s event marked a renewed energy for FinovateEurope, largely fueled by remarkable advancements in AI technologies. Although traditional presentations that focused on digital banking capabilities, personal financial management, and identity authentication were still prevalent, the spotlight, without a doubt, was on the innovation brought by AI agents and genAI, which were the event’s undeniable highlights.
AI Agents and Automation
Transforming Automation in Financial Services
AI agents emerged as a central theme at the event, promising significant breakthroughs in automation within the financial sector. These agents hold the potential to gather data efficiently, initiate inquiries, conduct thorough research, and manage a range of low- to medium-level cognitive tasks. This could result in an augmentation of human roles, support for substantial workloads, reduction of operational costs, and notable improvements in the employee experience. However, most demonstrations at the event focused on task-specific automation rather than complex multi-agent systems capable of handling dynamic conditions effectively.
The real process transformation in financial services requires the successful integration of various AI components such as chatbots, text analytics, predictive analytics, and machine learning solutions. Tying these components efficiently to data and internal systems forms the crux of realizing the full potential of AI agents. This integration is critical for ensuring that AI technologies not only enhance existing financial operations but also bring about meaningful and sustained improvement in the customer experience.
Enhanced Onboarding and Loan Processes
AI-driven companies like Arva AI, Intrepid Fox, and Intuitech were impressive in demonstrating how their solutions can significantly speed up customer onboarding or loan decision processes. By leveraging artificial intelligence to extract and verify information and navigate complex systems, these companies showcased how AI currently enhances human roles. Rather than replacing humans, AI tools are used to provide reasoning, draft communications, and streamline processes, making them quicker and more efficient.
The integration of AI into these fundamental financial processes illustrates a crucial shift towards a more technology-driven approach in the industry. With AI handling repetitive and data-intensive tasks, human employees are free to focus on more strategic roles. This shift supports more accurate decision-making processes, ensuring that customers receive rapid and precise responses to their financial inquiries and applications.
Generative AI and Legacy System Modernization
Potential of TuringBots
Generative AI, particularly highlighted by TuringBots, stands out for its potential to modernize legacy systems within the banking sector. These AI and genAI software development assistants possess the capability to generate code, create documentation, and aid in planning, testing, and deployment processes. Banking technology leaders are hopeful that TuringBots will significantly ease the complex process of modernizing outdated legacy systems. Yet, it is essential to note that current versions of TuringBots struggle with older programming languages like COBOL, which are still in use in many legacy systems.
TuringBots represent a significant step forward in addressing the technological debt associated with aging software systems. By assisting developers in navigating and understanding the intricacies of old code, these tools not only speed up the modernization processes but also ensure that systems remain robust and efficient. The capacity to automate large portions of these tasks means that financial institutions can focus resources on more innovative and customer-facing technologies.
AI Assistance in Legacy Systems
Tweezr, another standout company at FinovateEurope, showcased how its AI could assist developers by identifying the necessary features, technical guidelines, and constraints within legacy systems. Tweezr’s AI provides guidance on the required changes, facilitating a smoother and more efficient modernization process. This capability is particularly valuable in an industry where ensuring continuity and minimizing disruption during system updates is paramount.
With AI assistance, developers are better equipped to handle the complexities involved in upgrading legacy systems. This assistance paves the way for more adaptive and responsive banking systems, which can quickly incorporate new features and comply with evolving regulatory requirements. The strategic integration of AI into system modernization signals a forward-looking perspective that acknowledges both the challenges and opportunities of updating long-standing financial infrastructure.
Defending Against Deepfake Fraud
Deepfake Fraud: An Emerging Threat
Despite many positive advancements brought about by genAI, the rise of these technologies also presents significant challenges, particularly in the realm of security. One of the most concerning threats is deepfake fraud. As deepfake technologies become more sophisticated and pervasive across various communication channels, defending against them has become increasingly critical. Vendors at FinovateEurope 2025 were actively developing and refining tools to detect deepfake images, audio, and video, emphasizing the urgency of this security challenge.
Neural Defend, one of the notable presenters at the event, introduced a detection tool specifically designed to combat these fraudulent activities. Such tools are vital in protecting financial institutions and their clients from the potentially devastating effects of deepfake fraud. By ensuring the authenticity of communications and transactions, these detection systems reinforce the integrity and trustworthiness of financial services.
Building Robust Defense Mechanisms
The financial industry’s embrace of AI-driven defenses underscores a broader commitment to safeguarding against emerging threats. As part of this commitment, institutions are not only adopting advanced detection tools but also enhancing their overall security frameworks to anticipate and mitigate the risks associated with deepfakes. This proactive stance is crucial in maintaining customer trust and ensuring the ongoing reliability of financial operations in an increasingly digital landscape.
At the core of these defense mechanisms lies continuous innovation and adaptability. By staying ahead in the arms race against fraudsters, financial institutions can foster a more secure environment for their clients. The advancements showcased at FinovateEurope 2025 highlight a balanced approach that leverages AI for innovation while steadfastly defending against its potential misuses.
Future Trends and Considerations
Driving Force in Innovation and Efficiency
Overall, FinovateEurope 2025 underscored the transformative potential of AI and genAI in the financial services industry. These technologies demonstrated their capacity to enhance automation and modernize legacy systems, bringing about more efficient and innovative financial operations. By focusing on task-specific applications and broad integration strategies, AI is poised to revolutionize the way financial services are delivered.
The event highlighted AI’s role as a pivotal force in driving innovation, presenting a future where financial institutions can leverage AI to improve operational efficiency and customer experience significantly. As financial institutions continue to adopt and integrate these technologies, they will need to balance innovation with robust security measures to address emerging threats and maintain trust.
Preparing for the Future
FinovateEurope 2025 recently took place in London, showcasing the pivotal role of AI agents and generative AI, commonly referred to as genAI, in revolutionizing the financial services industry. This year’s event marked a resurgence of enthusiasm for FinovateEurope, primarily driven by groundbreaking advancements in AI technologies. While traditional presentations on topics such as digital banking capabilities, personal financial management, and identity authentication were still present, the real focus of this year’s event was unmistakably on the innovations brought by AI agents and genAI. These technologies were undoubtedly the highlights of the event, demonstrating their potential to transform how financial services operate. The emphasis on AI underscored the industry’s shift towards integrating sophisticated technologies to enhance efficiency, security, and user experience in finance. Attendees witnessed firsthand how AI and genAI are setting new standards and paving the way for the future of financial services.