On 10 June 2026, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued its first Emerging Technology Horizon Scan 2026.
The document sets out three plausible ways emerging technologies could combine to create new outcomes for consumers, firms and markets. It also highlights early signals of new risks these technologies may enable.
Key trends
According to the document key trends include:
- Technological convergence is accelerating. As emerging technologies combine, they are changing the way financial systems operate and serve consumers, creating new opportunities and risks
- Personalised intelligence could help consumers navigate their financial lives. If AI becomes the main interface between consumers and firms, AI agents, digital twins and edge computing could change how people budget, save and make financial choices. This may empower consumers, but also raises questions about autonomy, digital exclusion and consumer protection
- Synthetic crime is evolving fast and will affect how financial crime is tackled. Advances in AI are simultaneously improving firms’ ability to detect vulnerabilities while expanding attack surfaces. In parallel, synthetic media is becoming harder to tell apart from real content. AI may manipulate not only what we see and hear (for example, audio and video deepfakes) but also how we judge what is true. This could expose consumers and firms to new forms of fraud and deception
- Programmable finance could support growth by reshaping financial infrastructure and enabling new markets. Distributed ledger technologies, tokenisation, Central Bank Digital Currencies, stablecoins and smart contracts are moving from pilots to national strategies. This is creating connected financial systems that could make services faster and more efficient, while changing the underlying ‘plumbing’ of the global financial system.
Case studies
The report also includes case studies covering:
- Machine learning for credit risk management.
- Scaling relationship management with AI.
- Operational efficiency with AI adoption.
- Aligning skills and capabilities to AI strategy.
- Documentation of AI use cases.
- Learning from the AI ecosystem through public-private sector collaboration.
- How an adaptive AI strategy delivered industry leadership.
- Project Noor.
- Developmental testing.
- Financial institutions’ management of third-party AI risks.