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What’s next for fintech in 2025?

 

Kirsty Rutter - the Group's Fintech Investment Director - shares some of the fintech trends to look out for in 2025.

Kirsty Rutter
Fintech Investment Director
Published on: 24 January 2025
6 min read

The past year marked a significant period for UK fintech. In fact, throughout 2024 the industry experienced rapid evolution – from the rise of AI and machine learning enabling personalized services to advancements in open banking. 

As we step into 2025, the fintech landscape is set for even more transformative changes that will redefine our interaction with financial services. And the good news is that in the face of these challenges are fintechs that are inherently resilient and designed to solve problems. 

So, what can we anticipate from the fintech sector in 2025? What opportunities might arise, and what might be the potential challenges?

 

Digital identity and wallets in 2025

In our increasingly digital world, secure and reliable digital identities are more crucial than ever. Digital identity includes all the data we share online and how we verify our identity. With advancements in biometric authentication and AI-driven verification, our digital identities are likely to become more secure, reducing fraud and building customer trust.

Digital wallets are also evolving beyond payments to become multifunctional tools that store digital IDs and data that supports transactions of all kinds; all the ingredients that over time support our own personal AI financial assistants. We support this trend through our investment in Yoti, a digital identity company, and the creation of the ‘Lloyds Bank Smart ID’ app. Investments and partnerships that support innovations like these will streamline transactions, and provide a secure way for customers to manage their identities and finances.

 

The evolution of artificial intelligence

AI is revolutionizing how we handle transactions, investments, and money management. And AI-powered solutions are enhancing business efficiency and improving customer experiences. Our investment in Generative AI fintech Aveni and our partnership to develop a financial services-specific Large Language Model (FinLLM) underscore our commitment to leading in AI technology.

As AI applications expand, from Generative AI to Agentic AI, we anticipate even greater industry adoption. Generative AI can create new content and solutions, while Agentic AI can act autonomously to execute tasks. These advancements will enable more personalized and efficient financial services, from automated customer support to sophisticated investment strategies. 

 

"Generative AI can create new content and solutions, while Agentic AI can act autonomously to execute tasks."

Cybersecurity and fraud prevention

With the digitization of financial services, robust cybersecurity measures are essential. Advanced AI and machine learning will play a pivotal role in detecting and preventing cybercrime, ensuring a secure and seamless user experience. This will create a safer financial ecosystem as we move into 2025.

At Lloyds Banking Group, we are investing in cutting-edge cybersecurity technologies to protect our customers' data and transactions. By leveraging AI to monitor and analyse vast amounts of data in real-time, we can quickly identify and respond to potential threats, minimizing the risk of fraud and cyberattacks.

 

Embedded finance in 2025

Embedded finance at point of sale is increasingly normal – we have many options to pay at the point of checkout with a plethora of providers. As technology continues to evolve we will see financing options appear throughout our online interactions, decentralizing financial services, prompting banks to innovate in customer interactions and service integrations on non-financial platforms. Banks are already partnering with tech integrators and developing ecosystems to participate in this space. However, this trend also brings risks such as overspending and privacy concerns. Financial institutions must consider the broader societal impact of embedded finance.

Moreover, embedded finance allows financial services to be seamlessly integrated into everyday activities, such as shopping or using social media. This convenience can enhance customer experiences but also requires careful management to ensure responsible usage and data protection.

"Advanced AI and machine learning will play a pivotal role in detecting and preventing cybercrime, ensuring a secure and seamless user experience."

Tokenisation

Cryptocurrencies have been with us for some time, and as public awareness has grown, we have grown accustomed to the use of terms such as distributed ledger technology (DLT), a term sometimes used interchangeably with blockchain.

DLT enables transactions without the need for a central authority. The same design principle also underpins decentralized finance (DeFi), facilitating peer-to-peer financial transactions.

Tokenisation has been a transformative design principle of DLT, allowing assets of value to be subdivided (fractionalised) whilst adding higher levels of security that allow packages of data and programming to be transmitted between “owners.” Tokenization and fractionalisation of financial instruments and physical assets will make ownership of these types of assets more accessible. In 2025, the integration of DLT and DeFi technologies and principles into mainstream finance is expected to accelerate, opening up new markets for the everyday consumer which previously were only accessible to high net worth individuals and corporations.

Here at Lloyds Banking Group, we are exploring the potential of DLT and tokenisation to enhance transparency, efficiency and security in financial transactions - our investments in Fnality and Coadjute are a reflection of these future opportunities.

 

How might payments change in 2025?

The payment technologies landscape continues to evolve rapidly, driven by technological advancements and changing consumer expectations. For example, in August 2024, Apple announced it would widen NFC access within the EU, allowing third parties to offer NFC payments on iPhones, fostering innovation in the digital wallets market. Moreover, the UK Government’s National Payments Vision outlines ambitions for a world-leading payments ecosystem, providing consumers and businesses with a variety of payment options.

Instant payments, including account-to-account (A2A) transactions, are gaining traction. A2A payments are enabled through open banking technology, allowing each of us to give permission for businesses and individuals to be paid directly from our bank accounts – Moneyhub (which we invested in, in 2022) started out as an open banking technology. The European Payments Initiative (EPI) launched a pan-European digital wallet called Wero in 2024, designed around instant payments and a user-friendly experience, which is expected to increase A2A transactions in 2025 and beyond.

The Group is committed to staying at the forefront of payment innovations. Through adopting and investing in new technologies and forming strategic partnerships like we have done with Form 3 in our payments infrastructure, we are creating a resilient and modern payments core that allows further innovation in payment journeys benefiting customers and the UK payments ecosystem.

“Most successful fintechs are mission and purpose led. They exist to do things differently and we believe they can deliver great outcomes for customers and clients.”

Renewable energy is on the agenda

Renewable energy is crucial for advancing AI in the UK due to its growing energy needs. By powering AI systems with renewable energy, carbon emissions are reduced. The UK government supports projects that integrate AI with renewable energy to boost production and efficiency. AI also enhances energy efficiency by improving solar and wind energy forecasting. 

Additionally, efforts are being made to develop more energy-efficient AI hardware and software. This synergy is vital for achieving the UK's net-zero goals and ensuring a sustainable future for AI technologies.

 

Looking ahead

As we move into 2025, the fintech landscape is set for significant transformation, driven by advancements in digital identity, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, embedded finance, tokenisation and payment innovations.

We are committed to staying at the forefront of these trends through strategic investments and partnerships. By doing so, we will continue to deliver cutting-edge solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers.

Since its inception, our Fintech Investment Team has made significant strides by aligning with key fintech developments, connecting with thousands of fintech, introducing several hundred   to our business teams for potential partnerships, and making ten new strategic investments, allocating £50 million in funds. The future of finance is bright, and we are excited to continue leading the way in this dynamic and ever-changing industry.

Fintech Digital skills

Kirsty Rutter
About the author Kirsty Rutter

Fintech Investment Director

Kirsty has spent 25 years in financial services in roles spanning finance, strategy, risk, data, technology, innovation and strategic investment at six different Top Tier financial institutions.

Kirsty’s passion is organisational growth through cultural change; challenging the ways things “have always been done” and championing the opportunities that new tools and technologies bring.

Today, as the Group Fintech Investment Director, Kirsty uses her diverse experience to support business growth objectives and delivery through strategic fintech investment; focused on creating value by actively managing the portfolio across all businesses.

And whilst she’s doing that, she’s a wife and proud mum to two boys; who she says have taught her more than anything else she’s ever done.

Follow Kirsty on LinkedIn.

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