World Economic Forum (WEF) April 2026 report titled Growth in the New Economy: Towards a Planidentifies the acceleration of AI adoption as the primary force shaping global growth amid geostrategic competition, high debt, environmental pressures and demographic shifts. Drawing on conversations with nearly 200 industry professionals and a survey of more than 11,000 executives, WEF positions AI as a leading technology that is at the heart of productivity and value creation and essential to transforming innovation into sustainability. economic output.
Adoption of artificial intelligence has been on the rise. McKinsey‘s Global Artificial Intelligence Research It found that 88% of organizations now use AI in at least one business function; this was up from 78% in the previous year, with 23% scaling mediated AI systems.
Deloitte‘s The State of AI in the Enterprise The report states that employee access to AI will increase by 50% by 2025, and the number of companies with 40% or more AI projects in production is expected to double within six months.
Gartner in financial services data It shows that by the end of 2025, more than 70% of organizations will be using AI at scale; This is more than double the 30% figure in 2023.
Fintech is at the forefront of this change. Banking and finance leader artificial intelligence Depth of investment and usage scenarios according to multiple analyses.
McKinsey reported that 58% of financial institutions directly attribute revenue growth to AI, primarily through improved trading, predictive risk management, and process automation.
fintech Representing just 40% of the industry data set tracked by McKinsey, players drive nearly 70% of all AI initiatives, leveraging agility and fewer legacy constraints.
Practical effects can be measured. AI-powered fraud detection systems are already achieving over 90% accuracy and annual global bank savings are predicted to be £9.6bn by 2026.
Generative AI It alone could add $200-$340 billion in annual value to global banking through personalized services, automated compliance, and highly efficient operations.
PwC2026 AI Business Forecasts highlight the transformative finance functions of intermediary AI that frees professionals for higher-value strategic work by managing invoice processing, reconciliation, anomaly detection, and dynamic pricing.
Deloitte He notes that financial services firms are using autonomous artificial intelligence agents for tasks such as meeting follow-ups and workflow orchestration.
But challenges remain, in line with WEF warnings of skills shortages, policy instability and the need for compromise.
89% of financial services firms NVIDIAThe 2026 report says AI increases revenue and reduces costs, while only 38% of finance AI projects meet or exceed ROI expectations, according to Deloitte, while more than 60% face implementation delays.
High debt and geostrategic fragmentation are increasing the pressure, calling for balanced strategies between innovation investment and fiscal prudence.
WEF It highlights “no-regrets” moves: investing in productivity, talent and green transitions.
For fintechThis means scaling AI-specific platforms, multi-agent systems, and human-AI collaboration. As Asia accounts for more than 50% of global GDP growth by 2030, AI-equipped fintech innovators are poised to capture disproportionate value, provided leaders navigate the trade-offs. WEF update, new economy It rewards those who make a corporate-wide impact without even trying.
