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Ramifications for banking and media in a brave new world as technology explodes

by | Oct 6, 2025

https://thefinancialbrand.com/news/banking-technology/u-s-bank-innovation-team-explores-ces-2025-186111

 

Based on what was observed at CES 2025, the future of banking innovation is shifting from self-service digital tools toward “do it for me” agentic AI experiences, a trend likely to shape what will debut at CES 2026. The Metro Pulse Media banking ecosystem, with its focus on hyperlocal integration and AI-driven media, is well positioned to incorporate and expand upon these developments as mainstream expectations for embedded, intelligent banking grow.

Key Trends from CES 2025 Banking Innovations

  • “Do It For Me” Agentic AI: The shift is moving beyond DIY digital banking to agentic AI systems that proactively act on customers’ behalf, managing tasks such as scheduling, payments, and even financial planning without direct user intervention.

  • AI Everywhere, but Substance Matters: While “AI” was ubiquitous at CES 2025, only a minority of products meaningfully leveraged AI to solve real customer problems. Forward progress was seen in practical applications: voice-enabled assistants, customer-facing avatars for onboarding, and AI-run financial planning tools.

  • Hyper-Personalization: Technologies enabling greater personalization—from biometric authentication to AI-trained financial GPTs capable of understanding individual needs—were advancing rapidly.

  • Embedded Banking and Omni-Channel Experiences: Banking functions are becoming invisible, embedded in retail, automotive, and even household environments. For example, in-car payment systems and AI-connected appliances that manage expenses were showcased, presaging broader embedded finance models.

  • Cybersecurity and Trust: Increasing automation and agentic AI raises concerns about trust, privacy, and cybersecurity. Many exhibitors focused on secure, user-centric authentication and fraud prevention, highlighting the need for robust back-end frameworks to enable these advances.

Projected Applications at CES 2026

  • Next-Level Agentic AI: Expect to see more mature demonstrations of AI that handle increasingly complex finances (e.g., investment rebalancing, loan negotiation, subscription management), with agentic systems deeply integrated into consumer and business workflows. Banks will likely launch tools that not only advise but also act autonomously, based on user goals and constraints.

  • Real-World Avatars and Virtual Branches: Improved avatar tech will move from novelty to everyday utility, possibly enabling remote “walk-in” service at virtual branches or at physical locations using AR/VR or advanced screens.

  • Hyperlocal Data Integration: Products will better leverage hyperlocal data—traffic, retail flows, regional economic cues—to provide context-aware financial recommendations or to power local loyalty offers. This fits especially well with models like Metro Pulse.

  • Open Banking Across Channels: APIs and open banking will empower consumers’ own AI agents to interact across banks and fintechs, making seamless multi-bank ecosystems—an essential vision for Metro Pulse—a practical reality.

  • Augmented Trust and Compliance Layer: Expect cybersecurity, explainable AI, and real-time compliance monitoring to appear as foundational layers, enabling adoption and trust in next-gen agentic banking.

Fit with Metro Pulse Media Banking Ecosystem

  • Community-Centric Personalization: Metro Pulse can leverage agentic AI to foster hyperlocal personalization, providing region-specific content, offers, and services, all seamlessly woven into community media and everyday banking activities.

  • Platform for Embedded Experiences: Metro Pulse, combining banking with media, is poised to act as a channel for new embedded financial experiences (in local retail, mobility, civic projects), turning every piece of community media or local news into a potential trigger for context-aware banking actions.

  • Living Lab for AI Adoption: The ecosystem’s hyperlocal audience and feedback loops can serve as a proving ground for the trust, privacy, and adoption dynamics critical to agentic AI deployment in banking, helping refine models before broader rollout.

Guidance for CES 2026 and Beyond

Banking innovation will focus on context-aware, agentic AI experiences delivering convenience and hyper-personalization inside channels customers already trust—from community media to automated environments. Metro Pulse stands to be a touchstone for such transformation, blending financial services with regionally relevant media, AI automation, and embedded local experiences, presenting a model for the bank-media ecosystems of the futureuture.