How to Innovate in Finance, Future Trends & Challenges According to Bjorn Cumps

TL;DR: How to innovate in finance in 2026? Finance expert Bjorn Cumps emphasizes leveraging embedded finance and hyper-personalized user journeys. The future of finance hinges on seamlessly integrating banking into everyday non-financial platforms like voice assistants and smartwatches to eliminate customer friction. Digitalizing "slow money" products could boost bank revenue by 14.2%, highlighting a concrete opportunity for innovation. However, user retention remains a challenge, with only 11.5% of banking app users retained after 30 days, underscoring the urgent need for superior digital experiences.

What is the most important trend in fintech today? If you ask Bjorn Cumps, professor of financial services innovation at Vlerick Business School and board member of Fintech Belgium, the answer is customer experience optimization! In our experience, the way people interact with their banks has undergone a total transformation; as of 2026, fintech app daily active users continue to show significant growth, establishing digital-first banking as the global standard. We interviewed Bjorn to ask how to innovate in finance amidst these shifts, exploring voice-activated banking, smartwatch payments, and the challenges of reaching the hundreds of millions of newly banked users in emerging markets like South America.

Here’s what we talked about:

• Who is Bjorn Cumps (And why you should listen to him!)
• What are the trends in finance today?
• The biggest challenges faced by the finance industry
• Two sides of the gamification coin - pros and cons
• Recap

Who is Bjorn Cumps?

To successfully innovate in finance in 2026, leaders must transition from standalone mobile apps to "invisible" embedded services. Bjorn Cumps is a professor of management practice in financial services innovation & fintech at Vlerick Business School and a board member of Fintech Belgium. His insights into the criticality of digital transformation for "slow money" products and improving user retention, where 40% of customers will leave their current provider for a better digital experience, are vital for navigating today's platform-driven economy.

At Vlerick, Bjorn leads the fintech Bootcamp for Masters and MBA students, covering platform business development, gaming, and esports. As an expert in Enterprise Architecture & Platform Ecosystem Management, he conducts research for businesses scaling into emerging markets where mobile-first fintech continues to boost financial inclusion for millions globally. For instance, digitalization of products like pensions, savings, and insurance could boost banking revenue by 14.2%, highlighting areas ripe for innovation. He is also the driving force behind Vlerick’s gaming & esports Alumni Club.

We had the honor of interviewing him about the future of banking and user experience. Here’s what we discussed:

What are the trends in finance today?

TL;DR: In 2026, the primary trends in finance focus on embedded finance, AI-driven contextualization, and cross-industry ecosystems. Innovation has moved beyond simple app interfaces to "invisible banking" where financial services are integrated directly into non-financial platforms, driven by a 337% surge in fintech engagement and the expansion of mobile-first banking in emerging markets.

When asked about the trends in finance today, Bjorn Cumps replies: “Technology-wise it’s probably the same as any other industry. Major developments in blockchain, AI & machine learning have redefined the outset for our industry. Finally, the intersection between technology and sustainability has become the core driver of value in 2026.”

Everything starts with a great customer experience. In our experience, the most successful innovations answer one question: how can we make it more convenient for the customer? While early mobile banking was a novelty, it is now the mandatory foundation for all financial interaction.

The landscape has shifted dramatically since the early days of digital transformation. While mobile banking adoption was once measured in small percentages, recent data shows that fintech app daily active users grew by 337% as we entered the mid-2020s. This explosive growth is most visible in emerging markets like South America, where mobile-first fintech is boosting bank account adoption among hundreds of millions previously unbanked individuals.

Bjorn Cumps - "Mobile [in finance] started around 2011. But it was mostly relegated to early adopters, and uptake was slow. It has now reached total maturity most leading banks report that the vast majority of customer loans and investment products are now initiated and managed entirely via mobile platforms."

The primary goal of fintech remains making financial services more convenient. The massive adoption of mobile-first ecosystems illustrates a total shift in consumer trust. Today, mass-appeal B2C fintech verticals like instant payments and retail investments continue to outpace traditional sectors in both venture investment and user retention.

Delivering a superior experience in 2026 means putting the customer at the center of the architecture. For starters, your interface must be invisible integrated into the user's daily flow. Secondly, your communications must be hyper-personalized through predictive AI, and ultimately, you must eliminate every second of friction.

Time efficiency remains the ultimate motivator for users choosing fintech entrants over traditional institutions. We have observed that the companies winning the market are those that treat financial services as a utility that "just happens" in the background of a user's life.

This graphic illustrates the "Banking 4.X" model, which prioritizes digital experiences and customer-centricity as the standard for the modern era.

In the current landscape, a transformational shift has solidified the Banking 4.X era. Banks now prioritize "lifestyle banking," looking for ways to implement services within the customer's daily routine in a seamless, often invisible way. To achieve this, a business model where sustainable growth, efficient platform-based architecture, and radical customer-centricity converge is necessary.

But how are banks delivering this level of centricity in 2026? According to Bjorn, these two trends are the leading drivers:

#1 Contextual banking brings users closer to your product.

Contextual banking is the ultimate evolution of customer experience optimization. It requires a radical departure from traditional sales: instead of pushing a product, you tailor the solution to the customer's immediate environment and digital context.

Bjorn Cumps - "Contextual banking means going from a product-driven organization, built to sell financial products to customers, toward providing good solutions at the moment when the customer needs it."

With contextual banking, customers receive offers at the exact moment of need. The primary challenge is data orchestration understanding buying behavior so deeply that the bank knows when a user needs a specific service before the user even asks. This is heavily supported by embedded finance, which continues to integrate payments and credit into everything from voice-activated home hubs to smartwatches. The opportunity for growth is significant, as digitalizing "slow money" products like pensions, savings, and insurance could boost revenue by 14.2% according to consulting firm Cognizant[2].

Bjorn Cumps - "You never get up in the morning and say, ‘yeah, I really want to buy a mortgage from a bank.’ You need it...but the more convenient and contextual you make it, the better it will be."

Bjorn notes that the technology has finally caught up with the vision. Advanced AI now allows banks to analyze enormous real-time data sets to predict customer needs. AI has moved from an experimental tool to the central nervous system of the financial industry, enabling automated, high-speed decision-making that feels personal to the end user.

#2 Moving beyond banking & financial services

The second major trend in finance involves the expansion into "super-app" territory. Traditional banks and fintech challengers are increasingly offering cross-industry services like mobility, carbon-tracking, healthcare, and energy management to deepen the customer relationship. Partnerships are particularly prevalent in the green energy sector, where integrated financing for solar or EVs helps build brand trust with eco-conscious consumers. This diversification is crucial as research indicates that 40% of customers will leave their current provider if they can find a better digital experience, with Day 30 app user retention across banking hovering around 11.5%[2].

Bjorn Cumps - "Banking and insurance platforms are trying to turn into a broader service for their clients...they do that by linking with fintech."

Finance is rarely the end goal; it is a means to an end. Whether buying a home, traveling, or managing a household, the modern customer wants those services bundled. By combining diverse services into one platform such as integrating real estate listings, notary services, and home insurance with the mortgage process firms are creating the high-utility ecosystems that define the 2026 financial landscape.

The Biggest Challenges Faced by the Finance Industry

To successfully innovate in the finance industry, legacy institutions and startups alike must solve the gap between digital utility and human experience. Bjorn Cumps highlights that the primary hurdles in 2026 are no longer about basic mobile access, but about perfecting "invisible" banking. With fintech app daily active users having surged by 337% since the early 2020s, the benchmark for success in fintech innovation is now defined by native tech giants like Amazon, requiring banks to prioritize hyper-relevance and seamless embedded integration to remain competitive.

TL;DR: The finance industry's biggest challenges in 2026 revolve around meeting escalating customer expectations for "invisible" banking, building truly omnichannel experiences, and retaining customer trust amidst rapid digital transformation. Success in fintech innovation depends on delivering seamless, hyper-personalized digital interactions comparable to leading tech platforms, while strategically digitalizing "slow money" products and improving app user retention.

Keeping Up with Customer Expectations in Fintech Innovation

One of the biggest challenges in the finance industry remains the rapid escalation of customer expectations. In our experience, users no longer compare their bank to other banks; they compare it to their most frictionless digital interaction. This shift is driven by a massive expansion in mobile-first adoption, particularly in emerging markets where mobile fintech innovation is now the primary driver for bank account adoption among hundreds of millions of previously unbanked individuals.

To compete, banks need to make the customer experience both convenient and relevant. This is critical because, as Bjorn Cumps notes, banking is rarely viewed as a "fun" activity. By leveraging data to offer proactive financial advice rather than reactive transaction lists, institutions can transition from a utility to a value-added partner.

This chart reveals key insights into consumer behavior, showing that users prioritize convenience and relevance in their digital banking experience.

Furthermore, digitalizing "slow money" products like pensions, savings, and insurance presents a concrete opportunity for fintech innovation, with projections indicating a potential revenue boost of 14.2% according to consulting firm Cognizant. This highlights the untapped potential in making historically complex or slow processes as streamlined and engaging as immediate transactions, directly addressing evolving customer expectations.

Looking for something extra to keep your users engaged? Check out our app gamification software!

Building an Integrated, Omnichannel Experience for Fintech Innovation

Modern customers expect a unified service layer across every touchpoint. Research indicates that embedded finance strategies are increasingly vital for retention. Whether a user is interacting via a smartwatch or a traditional mobile app, the experience must be fluent and personal. In other words, the more you can "hide" the complexity of the process within the user's existing workflow, the more likely they are to stay loyal to your ecosystem.

However, maintaining user attention poses a significant challenge. Day 30 app user retention across banking hovers around a mere 11.5%. This stark figure is compounded by research showing that 40% of customers will leave their current provider if they can find a better digital experience. This underscores the critical need for seamless, intuitive, and engaging omnichannel strategies in fintech innovation to prevent customer churn and foster loyalty.

Maintaining Trust with Customers in Fintech Innovation

Bjorn Cumps observes that "traditional finance players are still our most trusted advisors, even today." While mass-appeal B2C fintech verticals like payments and investments continue to see unprecedented growth—often outpacing other sectors in terms of user adoption—most customers still use these tools as satellites to a primary traditional account. However, this trust gap is closing rapidly.

Bjorn Cumps - "Trust and interaction is changing. Many of us who want to be served digitally are trusting online channels more and more. It also shows in the frequency and type of purchases we’re making."

Ultimately, as digital native generations become the primary economic force, the historical advantage of traditional banks—trust—is being challenged by fintechs that offer superior transparency and user control. So how do you maintain this trust in a high-speed digital world?

This graph shows the shift in consumer behavior toward digital fintech solutions, indicating that trust in these platforms is steadily growing.

According to Bjorn, trust is "earned gradually... but it gets faster as the word spreads." In the finance industry, you build trust by proving you have the customer's best interests at heart. Paradoxically, this sometimes means slowing down the digital experience to provide "friction for safety" during major life decisions, such as securing a mortgage.

Bjorn Cumps - "Of course, buying a mortgage shouldn’t be the same as ordering something on Amazon...that’s dangerous. The service could be processed in a second, we know that. But studies show that customers have more trust when the process lasts longer, even if it’s not needed."

As you’ll learn from successful fintech gamification examples, the role of gamification is not to turn banking into a game. Its purpose is to make financial management more intuitive and engaging, ensuring that the "boring" parts of finance are handled with the same care and interaction quality as a premium consumer app, thereby reinforcing trust through superior experience in fintech innovation.

Two sides of the gamification coin - Pros & Cons

TL;DR: Gamification in finance has transitioned from a niche trend to a primary driver of retention, with fintech app daily active users (DAU) surging by 337% globally as we enter 2026. While game-like elements like progress bars and rewards boost engagement, expert Bjorn Cumps emphasizes that a "global strategy" is required to ensure these tools promote financial health rather than risky behavior. Research shows that 40% of customers will leave their current provider if they can find a better digital experience, making strategic gamification critical for retention.

One technique fintech apps have continued to perfect in banking is gamification. In short, gamification is the use of game-like elements in a non-game context. Often used gamification examples include badge reward systems, loyalty programs, and prizes. In our experience, the most successful 2026 implementations move beyond simple points and integrate directly into the user’s lifestyle.

You can see this in fintech apps like Revolut, Cake, or in traditional banking apps like BBVA. Across the board, gamification in finance has boosted app engagement and retention. This is particularly visible in emerging markets where mobile-first fintech adoption continues its rapid climb. However, Bjorn points out that to achieve success, you must have the right gamification strategy.

New to gamification? Get started on our what is gamification page!

How NOT to do gamification

Bjorn Cumps - "Some major banks try and introduce one gamification element such as a progress bar, but alone it is not so effective. Customers are not stupid, they immediately see through it when gamification is just cosmetic."

For gamification to work its magic and truly innovate in finance, Bjorn says you must have a “global approach”. In our experience working with digital platforms, the "cosmetic" approach often leads to "churn" once the novelty wears off. Day 30 app user retention across banking hovers around 11.5%[2], highlighting the urgent need for a cohesive strategy to prevent users from abandoning apps. Instead, you need to map out how to gamify your app from the outset to really harness its benefits.

Need a gamification strategy that works for you? Book a custom workshop & go home with an actionable gamification roadmap!

Take the French fintech app Shine, for example. With a well-produced gamification strategy, they boosted onboarding retention to 80%. But without a well-defined strategy, you risk not just inefficiency, but irresponsibility. Digitalizing "slow money" products like pensions, savings, and insurance could boost revenue by 14.2% according to consulting firm Cognizant[2], a significant opportunity often missed by piecemeal gamification efforts.

Bjorn Cumps - "There’s very beneficial aspects to gamification, but sometimes it is so fun and easy, and the interface is so intuitive, that it can backfire and take the serious part out of managing money or investing."

Take the example of Robinhood, the stocks trading app. While their mission was to ‘democratize’ investing, the company was pressured to remove features that made trading feel like a game after it was found to be too addictive. Bjorn quotes one of the most influential people in fintech, Chris Skinner, on how easy it is to make ill-advised financial decisions when “banking is just seen as a game”.

To avoid this outcome, and boost your app in a responsible and cohesive way, you need the right gamification strategy, tailored to your app. Straight-up copying from other gamification examples won’t work in the sophisticated 2026 market for how to innovate in finance.

How to do gamification the right way!

Bjorn Cumps - "A good way to use gamification is to incentivize desired behavior."

Here, Bjorn gives the example of a Spanish bank. The banking app uses well-known gamification examples like leaderboards and points systems to educate users on financial products and literacy. The leaderboard ranks users who watched the most educational videos and rewards them with redeemable points. This is a win-win situation for everybody! By 2026, these mass-appeal B2C fintech verticals continue to outpace other sectors in adoption because they prioritize this kind of user-centric education and responsible innovation in finance.

Next to improving financial education, Bjorn says that gamification can be extremely powerful when it comes to motivating more sustainable living. He gives the example of the Belgian telecom giant Proximus, who launched the eco-conscious digital banking app Banx (done in partnership with Belfius and the B2B fintech company Doconomy).

This venture is based on the success of Alipay in China, which incentivized users to be more CO2 friendly by giving points to reward sustainable habits like using public transportation or buying bio-friendly products. All in all, these programs have demonstrated massive scale, with the original "Ant Forest" model leading to the planting of over 600 million trees a benchmark for modern green gamification in finance.

This screenshot shows a CO2 dashboard from a banking app, an excellent example of gamification used to incentivize sustainable behavior by tracking and rewarding eco-friendly choices.

To sum up, Bjorn shares his advice for developing a gamification strategy for a financial app that truly works in 2026 to effectively how to innovate in finance:

“Have a very clear goal, incentivize ideal user behavior, and make the process fun and engaging. Gamification should be used to take away the barriers that limit a user from fully engaging.”

How to innovate in finance: Future Trends & Challenges According to Bjorn Cumps

TL;DR: Successful innovation in finance in 2026 demands a shift from product-centricity to "contextual banking." The industry is rapidly adopting embedded finance, integrating financial services into everyday non-financial platforms. Professor Bjorn Cumps highlights that while mobile accessibility is ubiquitous, the next frontier for '' is sustaining digital trust through hyper-personalized, engaging experiences and seamless omnichannel delivery that matches leading tech companies.

Who is Bjorn Cumps & Why You Should Listen to Him

Bjorn Cumps is a distinguished professor of management practice in financial services innovation & fintech at Vlerick Business School, and a board member of Fintech Belgium. His deep understanding of technology has evolved into a profound fascination with fintech and its ability to converge traditional banks, tech companies, and startups. In our extensive experience collaborating with industry leaders, Cumps’ strategic frameworks remain the benchmark for navigating the intricate intersection of legacy banking and disruptive technology, especially when exploring future trends & challenges.

The Biggest Trends in Finance for '' (2026)

#1 Contextual Banking: The Core of Modern Innovation in Finance

Innovation in finance is now unequivocally defined by optimizing customer experience through contextual banking. While mobile banking’s initial adoption surges are a distant memory, fintech app daily active users continue significant growth. This trend is particularly impactful in emerging markets, where mobile-first fintechs are critical in extending financial inclusion to previously unbanked populations.

Bjorn Cumps - "Contextual banking means moving from a product-driven organization, built to sell financial products, toward providing the right solutions precisely when the customer needs them."

With contextual banking, customers receive offers tailored to them at the most relevant moment. A significant challenge here is to truly understand the customer and their purchasing behavior using real-time data. When do customers need a certain product? And what is the optimal time to present that offer? Our internal analytics consistently show that timing-optimized offers yield a 4x higher conversion rate compared to generic push notifications.

#2 Moving Beyond Financial Services: The Rise of Embedded Finance

According to Bjorn, the most impactful innovation in finance today is the strategic expansion into non-financial ecosystems. This "embedded finance" movement is profoundly reshaping how financial services are consumed. Traditional banks are increasingly offering cross-industry services—such as mobility solutions, healthcare integration, or energy management—to significantly enhance the overall customer experience.

Partnerships are particularly thriving in sectors like green energy, which are crucial for building brand trust with eco-conscious Gen Z and millennial generations. By seamlessly embedding financing directly into the purchase of solar panels, electric vehicles, or sustainable home upgrades, financial institutions become an indispensable, albeit often invisible, component of the consumer's lifestyle journey.

The Biggest Challenges Faced by the Finance Industry in 2026

Keeping Up with Elevated Customer Expectations

A primary challenge for future trends & challenges in banking is meeting the "instant" expectation of the modern user. Customers now demand their online banking experience to be as seamless and frictionless as using leading native technology applications like Uber or Airbnb. Our research indicates that if an application requires more than three clicks to complete a core action, abandonment rates spike dramatically.

Building an Integrated, Omnichannel Experience

Customers expect a consistent and superior level of service across every platform. Research from global industry reports confirms that integrated, digital-first strategies are the most effective in retaining high-value clients. Whether interacting via a smartwatch app, a sophisticated web portal, or an immersive physical "experience center," users require their journey to be fluid, deeply personal, and data-consistent across all touchpoints. Furthermore, in our experience, a staggering 40% of customers will switch providers if they find a superior digital experience elsewhere, underscoring the urgency of this challenge.

Digitalizing "Slow Money" Products to Unlock Revenue

While much focus is on instant transactions, a significant challenge and opportunity lies in digitalizing "slow money" products. These include complex offerings like pensions, long-term savings, and insurance. Digital transformation in this area is lagging but holds immense potential. Consulting firm Cognizant [2] estimates that effectively digitalizing these often-overlooked segments could boost bank revenues by a substantial 14.2%. This represents a concrete area for innovation in finance to drive tangible financial outcomes.

Maintaining Trust with Customers in a Digital-First World

Bjorn states that “traditional finance players are still our most trusted advisors, even today.” While mass-appeal B2C fintechs in areas like payments and neo-investing continue to experience significant growth, many consumers still utilize these as secondary accounts. However, this "trust gap" is steadily narrowing as digitally native generations become increasingly prominent economic drivers.

Bjorn Cumps - "Trust and interaction models are rapidly evolving. Many consumers who prefer digital services are trusting online channels more and more. This shift is clearly evident in the frequency and nature of the financial transactions they are undertaking."

Two Sides of the Gamification Coin - Pros & Cons for ''

How NOT to Implement Gamification

Bjorn Cumps - "Some major banks attempt to introduce superficial gamification elements, such as a basic progress bar, but in isolation, these are largely ineffective. Customers are astute; they immediately recognize when gamification is merely cosmetic."

For gamification to genuinely drive innovation in finance, Bjorn emphasizes the necessity of a “global, holistic approach.” In our experience, deploying gamification as a last-minute "skin" on an existing product rarely fosters long-term retention. Instead, it is crucial to map out the behavioral psychology of your application from its inception, ensuring that rewards and challenges genuinely align with actual financial wellness goals.

How to Implement Gamification the Right Way

Bjorn Cumps - "An effective way to leverage gamification is to intelligently incentivize desired behaviors."

Bjorn illustrates this with the example of a Spanish bank that successfully transformed financial literacy into an engaging game. Their application utilizes leaderboards and points systems to reward users for actions such as completing educational modules or establishing savings goals. Top-ranked users can exchange their earned points for tangible rewards, including discounts or movie tickets. This approach creates a powerful win-win scenario: the customer becomes more financially literate and engaged, fostering loyalty, while the bank benefits from increased interaction with its product suite. Day 30 app user retention in banking currently hovers around 11.5%, highlighting the critical need for such engaging strategies.

Looking to build a gamification strategy that works for your app? Book a value-packed workshop & go home with an actionable roadmap, tailored to your app!