European banks fast‑track AI‑driven transformation of finance

At Money20/20 Europe 2026, industry leaders highlighted that European financial firms are moving from AI pilots to core, AI‑native operations. Executives from banks such as BBVA and ABN AMRO described the rise of "agentic AI"—systems that can initiate and execute transactions—combined with a shift toward programmable financial infrastructure and stablecoin‑enabled payment rails.

In Central and Eastern Europe, banks like TBC Bank, OTP and AikBank are already deploying AI at scale for credit underwriting, fraud detection, micro‑loan verification and customer interaction, often using large‑language models to interpret intent. While adoption is accelerating, firms stress the need for data integration, governance, and human oversight as they build integrated AI stacks across risk, growth and product services.