Payment innovation is top fintech research priority
Recruitment and retention of talents is biggest tech challenge, but constraints vary somewhat by teams
The vast majority of central banks see payments as a priority area for fintech research and collaboration, the Fintech Benchmarks 2026 find.
Payment innovation is a priority at 93.8% of respondents. Suptech (75%), machine learning and artificial intelligence (71.9%), and cyber security (71.9%) are also prominent on the list of research areas. The initiatives given least attention include foreign exchange (6.3%) and decentralised finance (3.1%). Monetary policy technology (0.0%) has no place on
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