Bank and credit union leaders face a more complex operating environment in 2026, one defined by increasing technology challenges. Under these uncertain conditions, they can gain greater strategic clarity and confidence from the informed forecasts of industry veterans.
Benchmark’s experts have successfully helped banks and credit unions through high-risk transitions and ongoing operational demands. They’re constantly checking the pulse of the industry to deliver the best solutions to customers.
Their 2026 predictions will help you frame your strategy as you plan your next move.
Fraud Will Continue to Be a Top Concern for Banks and Credit Unions
TIM WOLFE | Senior Account Executive
While AI and other advanced technologies will remain central to industry transformation initiatives, the fact is fraud will continue to be a top concern for many banks and credit unions. As a result, investments in fraud-mitigation technologies will accelerate, with institutions placing greater emphasis on choosing the right solutions from the start.
At the same time, M&A activity is on the rise, creating new operational complexity. Merged institutions face a new set of circumstances. They must support more devices, integrate disparate systems, and address compatibility challenges. These issues can be a drain on internal resources. For example, with a core change comes teller equipment refresh projects, RDC conversions, and a plethora of support issues that existing resources might not be able to handle.
From branch transformation and customer outreach to fraud mitigation and treasury conversion initiatives, banks will be navigating a wide range of high-impact projects in 2026, and many will seek the confidence and stability that comes from having a trusted partner like Benchmark at their side.
Market Stability Is Creating Greater Confidence in Strategic Acquisitions
ROBERT HARAN | Senior Account Executive
2026 is shaping up to be a strong year for M&A activity, driven by pent-up demand, improved market stability, and clearer regulatory guidance—particularly for financial institutions. As competition intensifies, banks will be under increasing pressure to grow deposits, expand fee-based revenue, and scale merchant services quickly.
At the same time, the commercial real estate market is beginning to stabilize, providing more reliable asset valuations and greater confidence for strategic acquisitions. This improved visibility is accelerating deal activity and, with it, the need to integrate newly acquired customers.
As a result, I expect to see significant increases in core and platform conversions, especially within merchant services. Successfully migrating merchants from one core to another—without disruption—requires specialized expertise, proven processes, and the ability to scale quickly.
This is where outsourced managed services play a critical role. Firms like Benchmark enable retail banks to efficiently support post-acquisition transitions by handling merchant migrations end to end.
The second half of 2025 made one thing clear: bank consolidation is accelerating, and 2026 is shaping up to be the biggest year for M&A since 2019. As institutions merge, many will face heightened operational risk driven by overlapping systems, compressed conversion timelines, and limited internal resources—making business continuity during large-scale system changes a growing concern.
M&A will also leave banks managing increasingly complex branch technology environments. Without a unified view of hardware, service obligations, and lifecycle status, institutions will struggle to standardize operations, control costs, and plan modernization initiatives with confidence.
Within the branch, the real challenge will be managing mixed fleets, aging devices, and fragmented maintenance strategies across expanded footprints. This is true especially when it comes to TCRs. Success in 2026 will depend less on individual technology decisions and more on a bank’s ability to integrate systems, rationalize assets, and scale service consistently across the enterprise.
Benchmark is ready to help financial institutions navigate this pivotal year—bringing stability, expertise, and operational excellence to every project. In addition to onsite and remote branch installation and upgrade services, we offer client migration solutions to help with RDC conversions and other projects.
AI-Driven Technology Will Transform the Customer Experience
STEPHANIE JOHNSON | Account Executive
The growing use of AI-driven technology will transform the customer experience in 2026. By leveraging AI tools to automate routine tasks while outsourcing certain treasury services, banks will have more time and resources to focus on growth.
Outsourcing installations, upgrades, and ongoing support of branch and customer hardware will allow banks to continue to grow. By delegating these tasks, financial institutions can allow their team members to focus on personalized customer engagement rather than troubleshooting technical issues. Prioritizing repairs and helpdesk services can minimize downtime and ensure reliable hardware performance, which leads to a frictionless customer experience both in and out of the branch.
Once banks can do more with less, they’ll be able to focus on growing their business. That means there will be time to explore offering specialized services that address their clients’ unique needs. For example, the cost of managing cash continues to be a growing expense for cash intensive retailers, even as cash usage declines. Solutions such as provisional credit and comprehensive CIT (Cash-in-Transit) service management will become essential, enabling banks to extend their reach to customers beyond the traditional branch network. Our cash optimization solution automates cash handling, enables cash visibility with dashboards and comprehensive reporting, and accelerates access to working capital. Having the bandwidth to deploy new, tailored solutions can lead to growth and stronger retention.
More Banks Will Start Benchmarking Tech Investments and Decentralizing IT Strategy
MIKE KUEBLER | Head of Treasury Solutions
Banks that still lack ROI metrics for technology projects will be at a disadvantage in terms of funding constraints and stalled initiatives. Leading institutions will standardize performance measurements tied to efficiency, risk reduction, and revenue growth. Clear metrics will become essential for justifying spend and prioritizing automation and outsourcing initiatives across treasury and operations.
Under these conditions, outcomes-based execution will be essential. There will be greater emphasis on accountability and enabling success for both internal teams and partners. Financial institutions that focus on precision in execution and performance measurement will accelerate adoption and ROI.
Additionally, more financial institutions will start leveraging cross-functional executive committees to set technology strategy, rather than relying solely on their IT team. Since digital investments directly impact revenue, risk, and client experience, there’s a clear advantage in having strong alignment between strategy and spend. Banks that streamline governance will move faster than peers stuck in fragmented or siloed approval models.
Banks tend to lack the necessary resources, time, and expertise in collecting relevant data and conducting the analysis to prioritize and evaluate new and improved products and technology for their clients. If your bank is looking to start benchmarking technology projects, it makes sense to utilize a partner like Benchmark with strong analytics capabilities to help you make quicker business decisions, allowing you to speed up your go-to market strategies and ROI timeframe.
As you take a closer look at client experience in 2026, this partner can also be a great resource. Banks tend to rely on the word of their employees or the revenue/retention numbers to get a feel for their client experience. They are challenged with the time and resources to strategically and formally survey their clients to better understand the status, strength, and value of the relationship. By having a trusted partner like Benchmark who can design, administer, and analyze client survey results, you can gain a competitive advantage with insights that are necessary to strengthen and maximize client relationships.
I predict banks will move beyond AI pilot projects and commit to solutions that effectively harness AI to drive revenue or reduce costs. AI will become so commonplace that most banks will have formal AI operating models across all domains, and there will be comprehensive employee training that goes beyond acceptable use to drive adoption and innovation across the enterprise.
The convergence of financial pressure and AI-driven efficiency will unleash a high-volume, data-driven M&A cycle. AI won’t just support M&A—it will fundamentally reshape how deals are found, priced, approved, and integrated.
No matter where a bank is on its AI transformation journey, Benchmark’s managed services offerings are poised to enhance client experience throughout the processes by augmenting banks’ existing resources according to their schedule and their need.
In 2026, having a managed services partner on tap will be an operational and competitive advantage.
If you’re not meeting your targets during M&A activity or other projects, our managed services and staff augmentation services can help.
Our team delivers end‑to‑end operational support that strengthens your organization from the ground up. We combine disciplined project management, real‑time visibility, and precise daily reporting with comprehensive asset management services—from tagging and serialization to inventory control, remarketing, and responsible recycling. Our onsite survey capabilities ensure you get accurate, actionable insights with the documentation you need. When your staff needs reinforcement, we step in seamlessly with flexible onsite and remote augmentation, providing skilled technicians for equipment removal, installation, configuration, and ongoing remote support. The result is a scalable, reliable extension of your team that keeps your projects moving, your assets under control, and your operations running smoothly.
Banks Will Prioritize Modernizing Core Systems and Preventing Fraud
GRAHAM TRUE | Account Executive
In 2026, financial institutions will accelerate technology investments, prioritizing advanced hardware and integrated service platforms to modernize core systems, enhance efficiency, and prevent fraud.
Banks and credit unions will allocate larger budgets toward infrastructure upgrades, automation tools, and AI-driven solutions to support scalability and compliance. To maximize ROI and speed-to-market, banks and credit unions should partner with experienced third-party project services firms, like Benchmark, who deliver specialized expertise, seamless implementation, and risk mitigation.
As AI becomes more prevalent in finance, fraud is growing more common. Financial institutions face increasing risk and exposure, making it critical for technology providers to develop advanced hardware and software solutions that close detection gaps and mitigate threats. Without continuous innovation, banks and credit unions risk significant financial loss and reputational damage.
Fraud, especially in the branch, is accelerating, costing banks an estimated $4.76 for every dollar lost. With technology advancing and fraud exposure on the rise, ID and check verification is becoming critical. The surge in sophisticated fake IDs means traditional manual inspections with the naked eye are no longer enough. Financial institutions must adopt advanced verification solutions provided by third party vendors and manufacturers to mitigate risk and protect against escalating fraud threats.
Due to the rising cost of fraud, banks will look for solutions that can detect sophisticated AI-generated forged documents. Currently, most branches rely on frontline staff who conduct visual inspections with the naked eye. Banks will need both hardware and access to the right ID verification services.
Join the Conversation
Valuable insights come from conversation. If any of these predictions resonated with you, connect with our experts to discuss how these trends may impact your strategy in 2026—and how we can help.