How Commercial Banking Client Demands Are Changing in 2026

Why It Matters

Banks that fail to upgrade payment speed, transparency and integration risk losing transaction volume and wallet share to fintechs and alternative providers; those that combine legacy strengths with targeted modernization can defend and grow commercial client relationships.

Summary

Commercial banking in Europe is shifting from slow, legacy-driven operations to client-led modernization as corporate customers reallocate payment flows to providers offering faster rails, transparency and integration with ERPs. Visa and Finextra research shows about 95% of banks report payment-speed impacts on client satisfaction and three-quarters see at least 25% of clients moving some funds to other providers. Banks still hold advantages in cybersecurity and resilience, but demand for low-cost access to corridors, tracking and systems integration is forcing selective partnerships with fintechs and faster digitization. The result is fragmentation of relationships and a race for wallet share rather than outright customer churn.

Original Description

Joining the FinextraTV virtual studio, Philip Konopik, Regional Head, Commercial and Money Movement Services, Visa discussed some of the outcomes from a recent report on commercial banking. Konopik explained that commercial banks were slower to growth, but a European shift is emanating from the behaviours and demands of clients. Konopik quoted some statistics from the report, stating the substantial impact that more modernised infrastructures has had on their end users. Konopik defined this change as similar to within the retail banking space, saying that ultimately customers will reallocate funds to places that will give them what they need and commercial banks have woken up to this.

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