Forrester Report: The Future of Banking Is Built On Trust
By 2030, Banking Will Be Invisible, Connected, Insights-Driven, and Purposeful

Analyst Report
Alyson Clarke, Principal Analyst, Forrester
Banks can no longer focus solely on near-term challenges. The economy, the political landscape, and even generative AI (GenAI), the shiniest new object in business transformation, cannot divert attention away from the importance of trust and a focus on customer obsession. Leading banks are adjusting strategies, embracing innovation, rethinking business models, and deepening their understanding of their customers to chart their future paths. This report examines the future of banking from three perspectives: the consumer, the bank, and the collaborator. Each of these perspectives will play a crucial role in defining what banking will look like by 2030.
Key findings in this report include:
- Stalling customer trust bodes poorly for the future of banking
- AI & GenAI are set to reshape banking, but they aren’t the only drivers of the future
- Banking will be invisible, connected, insights-driven, and purposeful
- To remain relevant, banks must connect to the ecosystems and products customer use
- The next decade is powered by insights to create value for the customers and the bank
- Future banks will be purposeful to match customer, employee, and stakeholder values
- Winners will leverage trust smartly and operate in multiple modes
Success will come from:
- Connecting firms in constellations of value,
- Powering products and distributing them via other’s marketplaces,
- Specializing and being the rails that others run on,
- Developing self-awareness and making decisions quickly, and
- Becoming an adaptive enterprise