Insights for Money20/20 Bangkok

Digital banking is rapidly becoming the dominant model, driven by fundamental changes in customer behaviour, rising smartphone penetration and the acceleration of real-time, always-on financial services globally

Today, more than 60% of global banking consumers actively use digital banking, a significant increase from just a few years ago and billions of people worldwide now have access to digital financial services. As adoption accelerates across Asia-Pacific and beyond, the competitive playing field for digital banks is changing, growth alone is no longer enough.

The real question for 2026 is, what should digital banks be prioritising to stay competitive, profitable and relevant?

Below are five critical conversations that should be front and centre for digital banks:

1.Building sustainable digital banking models

For much of the past decade, digital banks have been focused on rapid customer acquisition, often prioritising growth over profitability. However, as the market matures, the focus is moving toward building sustainable digital banking business models that can deliver long-term value. Digital channels already contribute a significant share of global banking revenue and institutions that have successfully invested in digital transformation are seeing materially higher profit margins compared to their peers.

At the same time, many neobanks continue to operate on thin margins, relying heavily on interchange fees, subscription models and other add ons. While these revenue streams have supported early growth, they are rarely sufficient to sustain long-term profitability at scale. As a result, digital banks must now explore more diversified and higher-margin opportunities, including solutions such as credit, embedded finance and ecosystem partnerships.

This conversation is ultimately about evolution. The next generation of successful digital banks will be those that can transition from growth engines into fully-fledged, profitable financial platforms.

2.Customer experience vs human connection in digital banking

Customer experience has long been a defining advantage for digital banks, with intuitive apps, real-time notifications (sometimes with emojis) and straightforward onboarding setting new industry standards. However, as digital banking becomes ubiquitous, expectations are evolving. While automation and AI-driven service are improving efficiency, according to Sci-Tech Today, 40% of digital banking users globally, still prefer human interaction when dealing with complex or frustrating issues.

At the same time, AI-powered chatbots and automated service tools are handling an increasing share of customer interactions, helping banks scale support without significantly increasing costs. This creates a delicate balance between efficiency and empathy.

The key challenge for digital banks is not whether to automate, but how to do so intelligently. The most effective strategies will focus on blending AI-driven customer service with well-timed human intervention, ensuring that customers feel supported rather than processed. In an increasingly commoditised market, this balance could become a critical differentiator.

3.Financial inclusion and digital banking adoption at scale

Financial inclusion remains one of the most compelling narratives in digital banking, particularly across emerging markets in Asia-Pacific. The rapid growth of mobile connectivity and digital infrastructure has brought millions of previously unbanked individuals into the financial system. However, access alone does not guarantee meaningful engagement.

While global internet penetration continues to rise and digital banking platforms become more widely available, many users still face barriers related to financial literacy, trust and usability. This is especially relevant in regions where digital adoption is high but long-term financial engagement remains inconsistent. Increasingly, digital banks are recognising that a purely app-based model is not always enough to bridge this gap.

This has led to the rise of “phy-gital” banking models that blend digital convenience with physical touchpoints. For example, GoTyme Bank in the Philippines has scaled rapidly by deploying in-store kiosks that allow customers to open accounts in minutes, supported by human assistance when needed. This approach helps build trust, improves accessibility, and lowers the barrier to entry for first-time users who may be less comfortable with fully digital onboarding journeys.

For digital banks, the conversation is steadily moving from access to impact. Success will increasingly be measured not just by the number of accounts opened, but by how effectively customers are using financial services to improve their economic outcomes. This requires a deeper focus on education, product design and localisation to ensure that digital banking truly delivers on its promise of inclusion.

4.Data and personalisation in digital financial services

Data is now key to how digital banks differentiate, shaping everything from customer experience to risk management. As digital banking adoption grows, customers increasingly expect services that are tailored to their behaviours, preferences and financial goals, rather than one-size-fits-all products. Personalisation is no longer a feature, it is an expectation.

However, true personalisation goes far beyond basic insights or spending categorisation. The next phase of digital banking will be defined by the ability to use real-time data to deliver relevant, contextual experiences, whether that’s surfacing the right financial product at the right moment, enabling smarter spending decisions or dynamically adapting service offerings based on customer behaviour.

Delivering this at scale depends on having the right platform to process and act on data in real-time, particularly at the transaction level. This is where modern issuing platforms play a critical role. Paymentology’s FAST, for example, enables banks to apply granular, real-time controls to transactions, supporting both personalised customer experiences and effective fraud control services that complement issuers existing fraud systems.

As competition intensifies, the ability to turn data into actionable insight is a baseline requirement. The real opportunity lies in how effectively digital banks can combine personalisation with protection, using data not only to enhance customer experience but also to build trust in every transaction.

5. Credit and partnership-led growth

Finally, one of the most important priorities for digital banks at Money20/20 this year is credit and partnership-led growth. As digital banking matures, the next phase of growth is increasingly being driven by a combination of credit expansion and strategic partnerships. While early-stage digital banks focused heavily on payments and account acquisition, sustainable revenue growth is now closely tied to the ability to offer well-targeted credit products at scale.

At the same time, partnerships are becoming a key enabler of this growth. Rather than relying solely on direct channels, digital banks are working with fintechs, platforms and brands to distribute credit in more contextual and accessible ways, while also expanding their own credit card programmes. Whether through issuer-owned credit cards or solutions embedded within ecommerce checkouts, integrated into gig economy platforms, or offered through retail ecosystems, credit is becoming more embedded into everyday customer journeys.

Partnerships allow banks to reach new customer segments and access richer data signals, enabling personalised offers. However, it also requires banks to be more agile, able to launch, adapt and scale credit programmes quickly across multiple partners and markets.

For digital banks, the opportunity lies in combining credit capabilities with partnership-led distribution to drive both growth and relevance. But success depends on having the right platform to support this, one that enables flexible product configuration and the ability to scale across diverse ecosystems.

At Paymentology, we work with digital banks and fintechs globally to help them scale faster, launch innovative programmes and deliver real-time, personalised payment experiences.

If you’re attending Money20/20 Bangkok, connect with our team to explore how you can accelerate growth through modern issuing, smarter data utilisation and scalable platform capabilities.