3 Finance Industry Trends to Watch in 2025
Financial companies face some big changes in 2025. And for many, how teams choose to adapt may just determine the trajectory of your business.
Let’s look at three key trends in the financial services industry and what they mean for your business.
1. More Urgency for Automation
Across industries and business sizes, 65% of chief financial officers say their organizations are tapping AI to automate a host of tasks, from procurement to financial reporting to optimizing facilities. Within the banking, credit union and insurance sectors, 52% of executives say they save at least $100,000 a year as a result. Most have already integrated some form of automation and many plan to invest in it substantially moving forward.
The reason is simple: New and emerging automation technologies streamline processes, improve client engagement and boost ROI. It’s vital to future success.
Yet many financial organizations still have a way to go—40% of executives say just 40% (or less) of their operations are currently automated. In 2025, expect organizations to apply AI and automation to more tasks with greater urgency. In addition to putting manual tasks on autopilot, automation software frees overextended practitioners to focus on more meaningful work like personalizing the client experience.
Related read: The future of work: workflow automation trends shaping 2025
2. Trading in Legacy Technology
For finance companies to thrive in 2025, customer experience is key. Seven in ten customers want more personal experiences from their banks. And according to Forrester, a 1-point customer experience (CX) index score improvement can lead to $123 million in incremental revenue for a large multichannel bank — or $92 million for a direct bank. What’s more, financial institutions that invest in CX grow 3.2 times faster than those that don’t.
The only problem? Many firms still rely on legacy technology — the kind that can’t keep pace with evolving customer expectations. For example, 43% of banking systems are still built on COBOL, a programming language from 1959. Investing in these and other outdated systems is projected to cost financial institutions $57 billion by 2028.
That’s why, in 2025, more finance industry organizations will move away from legacy systems to embrace digital transformation. The right strategy allows you to boost efficiency and enhance the customer experience while optimizing costs.
3. Support for Compliance
In a global survey of 800 financial services executives and senior-level decision makers, 75% say the current regulatory environment is stifling innovation. Six in ten view compliance as a monumental challenge and struggle to keep pace with rapid changes.
It adds up to tremendous strain on already-stretched compliance teams.
For this reason, many financial organizations are looking to replace legacy technology for more than just creating a better customer experience. New software also offers a simple, effective way to meet increasingly demanding compliance protocols. These solutions are continually updated to help support the latest SEC, FINRA and other regulatory requirements. They also come packed with security features to help prevent data breaches and eliminate the need to rely on skilled developers for updates.
Related read: Finance data security: Guide to securing financial information
Looking Ahead
While these aren’t the only trends shaping the finance industry in 2025, they’re three of the most important to watch. Automation and new technologies will play a pivotal role in organizations’ ability to keep pace with the fast-changing landscape.