Lloyds Banking Group: 28 Million UK Adults Now Use AI to Manage Money

Lloyds Banking Group’s latest digital-finance report reveals that over 28 million UK adults now use AI-powered tools to manage their finances, a figure that’s risen by more than 40% in the past two years.

The findings show that consumers are increasingly turning to AI for everyday money management, from automated savings apps and budgeting assistants to robo-investing platforms. Among users aged 18-34, nearly two-thirds now rely on at least one AI-driven tool to track spending or plan savings.

Lloyds notes that the trend isn’t just convenience-driven: users cite personalised insights and faster decision-making as major benefits. However, the report also highlights a “confidence gap,” with 38% of respondents saying they still don’t fully understand how these tools make decisions.

For banks, this represents both an opportunity and a responsibility. As more customers interact with AI daily, trust and explainability are becoming essential components of customer experience.

GaiaLens Take: Consumer adoption has overtaken institutional caution. The public is already comfortable with AI in finance; now the pressure shifts to banks to make those systems transparent, auditable, and bias-free. The gap between using AI and understanding AI is exactly where the next wave of regulation will land.

UK Treasury Launches Study on AI Skills and Finance Sector Readiness

HM Treasury has commissioned the Financial Services Skills Commission to assess how AI and emerging technologies can boost productivity and resilience in the UK finance sector. The review will examine the skills gap, workforce transition, and the potential for AI to streamline compliance and risk management processes.

The Treasury says the goal is to ensure the UK remains globally competitive as financial institutions shift towards automation and data-driven decision-making. The review will also consider how AI could improve inclusion and access to finance, from automated credit assessments to fraud prevention.

Industry leaders have welcomed the move. The City of London Corporation described it as “a timely and necessary audit of the industry’s future workforce needs.” Early recommendations are expected in Q1 2026.

GaiaLens Take: This marks a subtle but important shift in tone from “innovation at all costs” to “skills and sustainability.” For the UK finance sector, AI readiness will depend as much on people as on platforms. Reskilling analysts, risk teams, and compliance officers to work alongside AI is now the critical next step.

70% of Finance Professionals Say AI Is Driving Cross-Border Banking

A new international survey of 1,500 finance professionals, including 500 in the UK, found that 70% believe AI will drive the next phase of cross-border banking. Nearly half of respondents said AI already supports multilingual customer interactions and real-time transaction monitoring across global markets.

The research, published by Financial IT, shows how AI is improving operational consistency across jurisdictions, particularly in compliance screening and fraud detection. Respondents say the technology’s biggest value lies in accelerating decision-making while maintaining accuracy across complex, multi-market operations.

However, the study also flags potential data-sovereignty issues. As financial institutions scale AI globally, managing sensitive data across borders is emerging as a major technical and regulatory challenge.

GaiaLens Take: AI is quietly solving one of the hardest problems in finance: scale without fragmentation. Cross-border workflows once riddled with manual review can now operate in real time. The question for 2026 won’t be whether AI powers global banking; it will be how firms ensure that speed doesn’t come at the expense of compliance and oversight.

AI Tools Deliver Productivity Boost for Finance and Accountancy Firms

According to new research from Xero, AI adoption is paying measurable dividends in the UK’s accountancy and financial services sectors. Firms using AI for reporting, reconciliation, and forecasting have collectively gained an estimated £338 million in productivity improvements, saving employees an average of 19 hours per week.

The findings suggest AI is moving beyond pilot projects and into core workflows. Most firms reported significant time savings in invoice processing, expense tracking, and data validation, freeing staff to focus on advisory work.

The report does, however, warn that many firms still lack robust internal policies on data governance and auditability, raising questions about long-term risk management.

GaiaLens Take: This is what AI maturity looks like: less hype, more measurable impact. The most successful adopters aren’t chasing the impossible; they’re using AI to modernise the back office. As these gains compound, we’ll see financial firms treating workflow automation as strategic infrastructure rather than experimental technology.

Mastercard Advances Agentic Commerce with New ‘Agent Pay’ Toolkit

Mastercard has unveiled a major expansion of its Agent Pay programme, introducing developer toolkits and a new payments protocol designed to power secure, autonomous AI-driven transactions. The company aims to create an ecosystem where AI agents can make payments on behalf of users while maintaining traceability and compliance.

The announcement positions Mastercard at the forefront of what it calls “agentic commerce”, a next-generation model in which consumers and businesses delegate purchasing tasks to verified AI entities. The framework includes enhanced authentication standards and governance APIs to ensure transactions remain transparent and auditable.

Analysts see this as a foundational step toward mainstream AI-to-AI financial interactions, a concept expected to reshape e-commerce and payment flows over the next five years.

GaiaLens Take: This is where infrastructure meets intelligence. Mastercard’s move signals that AI agents aren’t just a novelty; they’re becoming part of the payments stack. For finance, that means compliance, audit, and authentication systems must evolve just as quickly. Agentic commerce could be the most transformative development in financial services since digital banking.