CFO budgets pivot to growth and AI

Finance leaders are reshaping budgets for the year ahead, with spending shifting toward revenue-generating functions, technology and AI while headcount growth slows, according to new research from Gartner. The findings, based on an October 2025 survey of more than 300 chief financial officers and finance leaders, suggest organisations are moving from broad-based expansion toward more targeted investment as they balance growth ambitions with ongoing cost pressures.

“Sales and IT are expected to see the largest budget increases in 2026, with over half of CFOs planning higher spending, and 28% anticipating double-digit growth in both areas, with marketing close behind,” said Nauman Abbasi, vice president analyst in the Gartner finance practice. “The emphasis on sales and marketing reflects their role as growth drivers, while IT budget increases reflect structural needs like rising SaaS costs, digital process expansion and AI-related expenses.”

By contrast, human resources is set to see the sharpest slowdown in spending growth. Only 29% of CFOs expect to increase HR budgets, while 22% anticipate cuts. Average HR budget growth is forecast to fall from 2.4% in 2025 to 0.7% in 2026, reflecting reduced hiring and efficiency gains from automation and AI.

Technology remains the standout area for investment. Three quarters of CFOs plan to increase technology spending, and 48% expect increases of at least 10%, highlighting continued focus on digital transformation, AI and cybersecurity.

“Across industries, technology consistently emerges as the area with the highest budget increase, underscoring its role as the backbone of digital transformation and operational resilience,” Abbasi said. “The average increase across all industries is around 10%, but this ranges from around 15% in the financial services sector to 6% in manufacturing.”

At the same time, compensation-driven budget growth is easing. Pay increases have moderated from 6.1% in 2024 to 5.4% in 2025 and are expected to fall further to 4.5% in 2026. Headcount expansion is slowing more sharply, with expected growth dropping from 6% in 2025 to 2% in 2026. Just 21% of CFOs plan to increase staffing by between 4% and 9%, down from 31% the previous year.

“The real story, however, lies in collapsing headcount growth expectations, from 6% in 2025 to just 2% in 2026 with just 21% of CFOs planning staff increases of 4% to 9%, down from 31% last year,” Abbasi said. “This marks a structural pivot from labour expansion to optimisation driven by automation and AI that deliver productivity gains without proportional increases in headcount.”

AI investment within finance functions is also accelerating. Nearly 60% of CFOs plan to increase AI spending in finance by at least 10% in 2026, while a further 24% expect rises of between 4% and 9%. Improving staff productivity is the primary driver, cited by 88% of respondents as a top-three priority.

Despite rising interest, most organisations remain in the early stages of adoption, with 47% allocating just 1% to 5% of finance technology budgets to AI. However, the survey suggests confidence is building as firms report gains in automation and forecasting.

“CFOs recognise that AI is no longer just an experiment - it’s fast becoming a core enterprise capability,” Abbasi added. “The shift from cautious pilots to committed scale is driven by tangible gains in productivity and decision-making. As AI literacy grows and legacy systems are modernised, we expect to see accelerated investment and deeper integration across finance and the enterprise.”

 

AI use near universal across financial institutions

Artificial intelligence adoption in financial services has reached near-ubiquity, with just 2% of institutions reporting no use of the technology, according to new research from Finastra. The findings point to a shift from pilot projects to broader deployment across core banking, payments and risk operations.

The Finastra Financial Services State of the Nation 2026 report, based on a survey of 1,509 managers and executives across 11 markets, shows six in 10 institutions improved their AI capabilities over the past year. Respondents say attention is now turning to scaling deployments in a controlled and commercially viable way across areas such as payments, lending, compliance and customer engagement.

Security is also climbing rapidly up the agenda. Institutions expect security investment to rise by an average of 40% in 2026, reflecting increased digital risk, regulatory scrutiny and reliance on technology across critical functions.

AI is emerging as a central tool across multiple use cases. The research finds 43% of institutions identify AI as their top innovation lever, while the most common applications include risk management and fraud detection, and data analysis and reporting, both cited by 71% of respondents. Customer service assistants and document intelligence tools follow closely at 69%. Priorities for the year ahead include AI-driven personalisation, workflow automation through agentic AI, and improved model governance and explainability.

The report also highlights customer experience as a key competitive battleground. Around 38% of institutions say improved service and more personalised experiences are now the top demand from customers. Only 4% report offering no personalised services, suggesting digital engagement capabilities are becoming a baseline expectation.

Despite ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, confidence across the sector remains high. Some 87% of respondents say they are optimistic about opportunities ahead at a personal level, while 86% express optimism about the outlook for their institutions as technology and operating models continue to evolve.

Modernisation plans underpin this outlook. Nine in ten institutions expect to invest in modernisation over the next 12 months, driven by the need to scale AI, strengthen resilience and improve customer experience. Partnerships with fintech providers are the most common route to delivery, cited by 54% of respondents. Cloud adoption is also a focus, with 29% prioritising it as a way to reduce costs, improve scalability and support innovation.

Finastra chief executive Chris Walters says technology decisions now sit “at the centre of trust, resilience, and customer experience”, with institutions expected to move quickly while managing regulatory and operational risks. He adds that the findings show a sector moving beyond experimentation and into execution.

The survey was conducted online in November 2025 by Savanta and includes institutions collectively managing more than US$100tn in assets and serving around 400 million customer relationships.

 

Spending data reveals economic shock of cyberattacks

Recent cyberattacks on major companies and infrastructure providers are causing economic disruption well beyond the targeted organisations, with new research suggesting the ripple effects can be measured directly through shifts in consumer spending and supply chains. Analysis by the Mastercard Economics Institute, led by Johan Gerber, executive vice president of security solutions at Mastercard, and chief economist Michelle Meyer, examines how cyber incidents at firms such as Japan’s Asahi Group and the US Colonial Pipeline triggered sharp changes in purchasing behaviour and exposed vulnerabilities across connected industries.

In September 2025, a cyberattack forced Asahi to shut down many systems and halt production at most of its factories in Japan. Spending data shows a 57% year-on-year surge in sales at beer and liquor stores in the first 10 days of October as consumers stockpiled products amid fears of shortages. A similar pattern emerged in the US following the 2021 Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, which disrupted roughly 45% of fuel supply on the East Coast. Spending per card in affected states rose 17% compared with 5% elsewhere, while average fuel transaction sizes increased 14%.

These case studies highlight how cyber incidents can quickly spread beyond the initial target. Disruption to production, logistics and distribution chains can affect thousands of businesses and millions of consumers, with economic effects lasting weeks or months. More recent incidents reinforce this trend. A cyberattack on Jaguar Land Rover in 2025 halted operations for five weeks and affected more than 5,000 suppliers, with reported losses to the UK economy estimated at $2.5bn. In 2024, a ransomware incident at CDK Global disrupted services for around 15,000 car dealerships across North America, with estimated losses exceeding $600m over two weeks.

The research suggests the increasing scale and sophistication of cybercrime, including AI-enabled attacks, is turning cybersecurity into a broader macroeconomic issue. As supply chains and digital systems become more interconnected, disruptions in one sector can trigger wider economic effects.

The authors argue that response strategies must evolve accordingly. One recommendation is for greater coordination across governments, financial institutions and corporates, with stronger public-private partnerships and information sharing to improve resilience across both cybersecurity systems and supply chains. Given the cross-border nature of many attacks, a more globally coordinated approach is seen as essential to maintaining trust in digital infrastructure and limiting economic fallout.

The report also calls for more consistent measurement of the economic impact of cybercrime. Without reliable metrics, policymakers and businesses risk relying on anecdotal evidence when allocating cybersecurity resources or shaping regulation. Developing clearer data on the financial and operational costs of attacks could support more targeted investment and risk management decisions.

Taken together, the findings suggest cyber incidents are no longer isolated technology failures but events with measurable consequences for spending, supply chains and economic stability.

 

UK selects HSBC platform for digital gilt pilot

HM Treasury has selected HSBC’s Orion platform to support the UK’s planned Digital Gilt Instrument (DIGIT) pilot, positioning the country to test the issuance of tokenised sovereign debt on distributed ledger technology. The decision marks a step forward in the UK government’s efforts to explore how digital assets infrastructure could be applied to public debt markets. DIGIT is intended to assess whether issuing gilts on blockchain rails can improve efficiency across the lifecycle of a bond, from issuance to settlement and trading.

Lucy Rigby KC MP, economic secretary to the Treasury, said: “We want to attract investment and make the UK the best place to do business, which is why we are launching DIGIT to understand how the UK can capitalise on this technology, deliver efficiencies and reduce costs for firms.”

Under the pilot, HSBC Orion will act as the platform provider for the initial issuance. The initiative will test how tokenised sovereign bonds function in a regulated environment and how they interact with existing market infrastructure and participants. Authorities and market stakeholders are expected to use the findings to evaluate whether digital issuance could form part of the UK’s future capital markets framework.

Tokenised bond issuance has been explored in multiple jurisdictions in recent years, with proponents arguing that blockchain-based infrastructure can shorten settlement times, improve transparency and streamline post-trade processes. By moving key functions such as issuance, record-keeping and settlement onto a shared ledger, digital bonds are designed to reduce operational friction and potentially enhance liquidity across primary and secondary markets.

HSBC’s Orion platform has previously been used for a range of digital bond transactions across sovereign, supranational and corporate issuers. These include the European Investment Bank’s digital sterling bond in 2023, as well as several sovereign and corporate digital bond issuances in Asia and the Middle East. In total, the platform has supported more than US$3.5bn of digitally native bond issuance across multiple currencies and jurisdictions.

The DIGIT pilot will focus on a limited initial issuance, allowing authorities and market participants to test technical and operational aspects before considering broader adoption. Questions likely to be examined include interoperability with existing clearing and settlement systems, regulatory oversight, investor access and the role of intermediaries in a tokenised environment.

While still exploratory, the pilot reflects wider interest among governments and market infrastructure providers in the potential for digital assets technology to modernise debt capital markets. For the UK, the programme is expected to inform future policy decisions on whether tokenised sovereign issuance could complement traditional gilt markets or remain a niche instrument used for specific purposes.

 

Aviva Investors explores tokenised funds with Ripple

Aviva Investors and financial technology firm Ripple are working together to explore the tokenisation of traditional fund structures using blockchain infrastructure, in a move that reflects growing institutional interest in digital asset technology. The collaboration will focus on assessing how tokenised versions of investment funds could be issued and managed on the XRP Ledger, a public blockchain designed for financial transactions. The initiative marks Aviva Investors’ first step towards incorporating tokenisation into its product range, while Ripple says it is its first partnership with a European-based investment manager on this type of project.

Both firms intend to work on the project through 2026 and beyond, examining how tokenised fund structures could operate within regulated markets. The effort forms part of a broader push across the asset management sector to test whether blockchain technology can streamline operational processes, improve settlement efficiency and support new forms of distribution.

Tokenisation involves representing traditional financial assets such as fund units on a distributed ledger, allowing them to be issued, transferred and recorded digitally. Advocates argue that the model could shorten settlement times, reduce administrative costs and provide more transparent ownership records, although large-scale adoption remains in early stages.

Ripple’s XRP Ledger is designed to support financial institutions seeking to issue digital assets in a regulated context. According to the firms, the network includes features intended to support compliance and operational controls, while enabling near-instant transaction settlement. The ledger has processed billions of transactions since its launch and is maintained by a network of independent validators.

For Aviva Investors, the work is positioned as exploratory rather than a confirmed product launch. The asset manager is assessing how tokenised structures could complement existing fund offerings and whether the technology can deliver measurable efficiency gains for investors and operational teams.

Across the investment industry, tokenisation initiatives have been gaining momentum as asset managers, banks and market infrastructure providers test blockchain-based issuance and settlement models. While most projects remain in pilot or exploratory phases, they are increasingly seen as part of a longer-term shift towards more digital and automated capital markets infrastructure.

 

Finteum volumes pass US$1bn as banks step up intraday liquidity trading

Finteum says weekly intraday foreign exchange swap volumes on its platform have reached US$1bn, as global banks increase activity and new participants come online to test tools designed to support round-the-clock liquidity management. The milestone comes as Goldman Sachs has joined the network and executed its first trades, including what Finteum describes as the largest intraday FX swap completed on the platform so far. Existing participants including NatWest Group and UBS have also increased volumes as banks explore ways to manage funding and settlement needs in markets that are increasingly operating in real time.

The platform enables banks to borrow and lend cash intraday using FX swap transactions executed through the TP ICAP UK multilateral trading facility. Built on distributed ledger technology, it is intended to allow institutions to move liquidity between currencies more quickly during the trading day.

Regulatory and market pressure has heightened the focus on intraday liquidity in recent years. Guidance published by the European Central Bank in late 2024 highlighted the need for banks to strengthen monitoring and management of liquidity positions throughout the day, particularly as payment systems shift towards faster and extended settlement cycles.

Carey Halio, global treasurer of Goldman Sachs, said intraday FX swaps are emerging as a useful tool for liquidity management. “Intraday FX swaps are a powerful new tool to help Goldman Sachs efficiently manage our liquidity needs,” she said, adding that distributed ledger technology enables transactions to be executed and cash moved “in near real time, at scale”.

NatWest Group treasurer Donal Quaid said the shift towards continuous markets is raising the importance of intraday liquidity oversight. “The movement of money is faster than ever before, and as markets shift towards real-time settlement, managing intraday liquidity has become critical,” he said. Technologies such as distributed ledger systems, he added, are changing how quickly institutions can see and deploy liquidity throughout the day as settlement cycles shorten.

Finteum says the network currently supports trades in major currencies including US dollars, euros, pounds and Swiss francs. Around 10 banks are expected to be active on the platform by the end of 2026, with further institutions preparing to go live.

The company is also working with technology partners to integrate digital money solutions and develop payment-versus-payment settlement for intraday FX swaps. For participating banks, the model is being tested as a way to manage liquidity more dynamically while maintaining operational resilience and data control within their own infrastructure.

 

Two and Signicat partner on real-time B2B buyer checks

Norwegian fintechs Two and Signicat have partnered to introduce real-time verification tools aimed at addressing a long-standing friction point in B2B e-commerce: confirming that a buyer is authorised to transact on behalf of a company. While consumer identity checks are widely digitised and corporate credit assessments are routine, verifying an individual’s authority within a business often still relies on manual documentation and phone calls. That process can delay transactions, increase fraud risk and lead to abandoned orders, particularly in cross-border trade across the UK and Europe.

The collaboration connects Two’s B2B payments and risk platform with Signicat’s digital identity infrastructure. The combined system is designed to verify a buyer’s personal identity and, at the same time, confirm their legal authority to commit their company to a purchase. This is done by linking identity proofing tools, such as national electronic ID schemes and biometric document checks, with data from company registries and other official sources.

The partners say the timing reflects continued growth in digital B2B commerce, which is projected to reach US$36 trillion globally by 2026. However, that expansion is occurring alongside rising fraud concerns. Signicat research published in 2025 found that 54% of European fintech firms reported increased fraud levels, with many cases exploiting gaps between personal identity checks and corporate authorisation.

By combining identity verification and corporate authority checks into a single process, the companies aim to reduce the need for manual credit applications and back-office reviews. For merchants, the model is intended to support faster onboarding of business customers and the ability to offer payment terms more quickly. For buyers, it is designed to replicate the faster checkout experiences seen in consumer e-commerce, while maintaining compliance with anti-money laundering and know-your-customer requirements.

The firms say the integration is focused on UK and European markets initially, with a view to supporting cross-border transactions where verifying buyer authority can be particularly complex.

 

Romanian insurer adopts treasury automation platform

GRAWE Romania has selected FinqTreasury, a treasury management system developed by Finqware, as part of a programme to automate financial processes and improve visibility over cash and payments. The insurer, part of Austria’s GRAWE Group, says the implementation will support digitalisation of its financial infrastructure, including direct bank connectivity, multi-bank integration and real-time cash flow monitoring. In the insurance sector, where operations involve high volumes of collections, recurring payments and regulatory reporting, the system is intended to centralise banking data and reduce manual reconciliation work.

FinqTreasury is a cloud-based treasury platform built on open banking connectivity. According to the companies, it automates bank statement, payment and receivables reconciliation and is designed to reduce manual effort and operational risk in financial workflows. The platform is also intended to support compliance and audit requirements by providing full traceability across transactions.

Dragoș Călin, president of the management board at GRAWE Romania, says digitalisation is a strategic priority for the company. He notes that adopting the platform marks “an essential step in modernising our financial infrastructure, providing real-time visibility over financial flows and full traceability, with minimal manual intervention,” and is intended to strengthen the firm’s ability to support long-term growth.

The move reflects broader adoption of treasury and cash management technology across insurers and other financial institutions in Central and Eastern Europe. As firms handle growing transaction volumes and more complex reporting requirements, automation and real-time visibility are becoming a priority for finance and treasury teams.

For Finqware, the project represents further expansion into the insurance sector, where treasury systems are increasingly used to manage collections, claims payments and liquidity across multiple banking partners. The company says it is in discussions with other insurers in the region as interest in digital financial management tools grows.

GRAWE Romania operates in life and general insurance and serves retail and small and medium-sized enterprise clients. The implementation of the new treasury system is expected to support day-to-day cash management, reconciliation and reporting processes across the business.

 

Conferma links with Oracle to automate hotel payments

Conferma has integrated its virtual payments technology with Oracle’s OPERA Cloud property management system, aiming to automate corporate travel payments for hotels and business customers. The integration connects Conferma’s virtual card platform with Oracle’s widely used hotel management software via the Oracle Hospitality Integration Platform. By delivering virtual card instructions directly into the property management system through application programming interfaces, the arrangement is intended to reduce manual processing, improve data security and streamline reconciliation for hotels and corporate travel programmes.

OPERA Cloud is used by more than 30,000 hotel properties globally. Through the integration, participating hotels can receive payment details automatically within their existing systems, rather than relying on manual entry or email-based processes. This is designed to reduce administrative workloads and lower the risk of errors or fraud linked to manual handling of card information.

Corporate travel buyers and finance teams are also expected to gain more consistent reporting and reconciliation across travel spend. Automated delivery of payment instructions is intended to improve visibility over transactions, support value-added tax reclaim processes and help enforce corporate travel policies.

The first hotel group to adopt the integration is Norway-based Thon Hotels, which plans to use the capability across its properties to support corporate travellers and streamline internal payment workflows.

Virtual cards are becoming more widely used in corporate travel payments, driven by demand for better control over spend, improved security and faster reconciliation. Industry data cited in the announcement indicates that a large majority of businesses either already use or plan to adopt virtual cards, increasing pressure on hotels to support automated and secure payment processes.

For travel managers and finance teams, the integration reflects a broader shift towards automated payment workflows and real-time data flows between booking systems, hotels and corporate expense platforms. As travel volumes recover and digital payment adoption increases, systems that reduce manual intervention and provide clearer audit trails are becoming a priority across the sector.

 

KBC launches regulated crypto trading via Bolero

KBC Bank has introduced regulated crypto trading services for retail clients through its Bolero online investment platform, becoming one of the first banks in Belgium to offer access to digital assets within a European regulatory framework. Clients will be able to trade a selection of crypto assets alongside traditional investments within the bank’s existing digital investment environment. Transactions are delivered in line with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, reflecting efforts by financial institutions to integrate digital assets while maintaining compliance and investor protection standards.

To support the offering, KBC has partnered with Crypto Finance, part of Deutsche Börse Group, which will provide trading services and act as principal counterparty. The arrangement is designed to give the bank access to liquidity and execution capabilities across crypto markets while operating within established governance structures.

The move reflects a broader trend among European banks exploring regulated routes into digital assets, particularly as the MiCA framework begins to shape how crypto services are offered across the region. By embedding crypto trading within its existing investment platform, KBC is positioning the service alongside traditional securities and funds rather than as a standalone product.

For clients, the bank says the integration is intended to offer access to crypto assets within a familiar banking interface and under existing customer protections. For the bank, the rollout forms part of a wider strategy to expand digital investment capabilities while maintaining oversight and risk controls in a market that has historically operated outside the regulated financial system.

 

Adyen and accesso expand global payments partnership

Payments platform Adyen and leisure software provider accesso Technology Group have expanded their strategic partnership, embedding payment capabilities more deeply across accesso’s global platform for attractions, entertainment and cultural venues. Adyen is now positioned as accesso’s long-term payments partner and is intended to support high-volume transactions across digital and on-site sales channels. accesso says it processes more than US$5bn in annual transaction volume through its platforms, covering ticketing, retail and guest experience services across multiple regions.

Under the expanded agreement, embedded payments will become a core capability across accesso’s product suite, with a focus on supporting complex, multi-region operations and improving resilience for high-traffic environments. The companies say the arrangement is designed to help venues manage peak demand periods, including large events and seasonal spikes, while maintaining consistent payment performance.

The partnership also reflects broader growth in platform-based payment models, where software providers integrate payment processing directly into their systems. For operators in sectors such as theme parks, attractions and cultural venues, the model can reduce the need for separate payment infrastructure and support unified reporting across sales channels.

One impact of the strengthened integration is its support of ongoing platform development and transaction growth. By aligning more closely on technology and infrastructure, the collaboration aims to provide a more consistent payments environment for venues operating across different markets and currencies.

The announcement follows continued expansion in embedded payments across software platforms, as companies seek to streamline payment acceptance, improve reliability and manage rising transaction volumes in customer-facing environments.