June 24, 2026

Horizon 2030: Navigating the Era of Agentic Banking

Charles-André Duport, Sales Director, Personetics

On 23 June, around 200 senior decision-makers from France’s banking sector converged in Paris for IN BANQUE 2026. Comprising representatives from major banks, digital challengers, and fintechs, this specialised conference’s theme, Horizon 2030: Towards Conversational and Agentic Banking, set the stage to explore how artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping the industry.

The event’s intimate scale fostered genuine, candid conversations. As someone tasked with advising banking leaders on customer engagement every day, I found the energy at this year’s conference incredibly validating. The consistent message across all discussions: banks can no longer compete on digital channels or baseline products alone. Today, differentiation comes through intelligence, relevance, and the ability to deliver deeply personalised, contextually aware experiences powered by AI.

Key Themes from IN BANQUE 2026

Throughout the panels and keynotes, several themes emerged with striking clarity. The discussions revealed that changing customer expectations, new regulations, and fierce competition are forcing banks to fundamentally rethink both their long-term strategies and day-to-day operating models.

The Future of Banking by 2030

Institutions are grappling with a seismic shift: from product-centric models to intelligence-driven services. The consensus was clear: competitive advantage in 2030 will be built on the banks’ ability to leverage artificial intelligence, adapt to evolving customer demands, navigate regulatory change, and outpace competitors. Success requires a fundamental operational rethink.

Agentic AI and Conversational Banking

Banking is moving rapidly beyond simple chatbots. A major focus was the emergence of AI assistants, conversational banking, and autonomous agentic AI as the new standard for customer interaction. Delegates discussed early use cases, practical deployment challenges, necessary governance frameworks, and the profound impact autonomous agents will have on both customer service and back-office operations.

Hyper-Personalisation for Growth

Basic analytics are no longer sufficient. The goal is to move beyond static data to deliver contextual recommendations that genuinely enhance customer engagement. This shift toward hyper-personalisation is proving essential for driving measurable business outcomes and meeting modern consumer expectations for relevant, timely experiences.

Digital Innovation and AI-First Marketing

Digital banks are aggressively leveraging AI, automation, and personalisation to drive innovation whilst protecting profitability. Traditional marketing and distribution models must adapt to AI-first customer journeys. Financial institutions are rethinking how they approach sales, service delivery, and digital marketing investment.

Data and AI Across All Business Lines

The application of AI extends far beyond retail customer service. The conference featured deep dives into how data intelligence is transforming specialised sectors—including lending, wealth management, real estate financing, and internal operational efficiency.

The European Digital Identity Wallet

Strategic preparations are underway regarding the EU Digital Identity Wallet. Discussions explored its implications for streamlining customer onboarding, improving banking operations, and delivering a more secure and frictionless banking experience.

Bringing Insights to Life: The Desjardins Story

Corine Côté, Head of Retail Insights at Desjardins, presented our work on hyper-personalisation, demonstrating how Cognitive Banking and AI-driven insights are delivering tangible business value. The presentation highlighted the strength of our partnership with Desjardins and showcased measurable results that resonated deeply with attendees. The genuine enthusiasm during our stand visits afterwards made it clear that banking leaders were keen to understand how these insights are driving real performance improvements for Desjardins.

Horizon 2030: An Industry at an Inflection Point

IN BANQUE 2026 demonstrated that France’s financial sector is actively building its future with AI at the centre. The widespread enthusiasm for conversational banking, agentic AI, and data-driven personalisation reveals an industry at a critical juncture.

The message is unequivocal: competitive advantages will be built on intelligence and relevance rather than branch networks or basic mobile apps. Banks that successfully transition from transactional utilities into intelligent, autonomous financial advocates for their customers will define the market by 2030.