AI is transforming fintech at a speed that makes previous waves of financial innovation look gradual. Yet, Melanie Franklin, CEO of Capability for Change, argues that the organisations best placed to capitalise on this moment are not necessarily those with the most advanced technology, but those with engaged workforces. Here, she explores why workforce readiness is the variable most financial institutions are still failing to account for when it comes to embracing the huge opportunities AI presents, and offers her advice to industry leaders on how to cultivate this.
What is actually changing
I work with financial institutions at various stages of transformation, and one thing is clear: AI is fundamentally shifting the nature of fintech. We are no longer talking only about automating a loan application or accelerating a compliance check, although it is fair to say that recent advancements have sped processes like this up at a remarkable rate.
What is happening now goes much further. AI is enabling fintechs to fast track their move to become financial operating systems, quietly powering e‑commerce platforms and IoT devices behind the scenes. Fintech is no longer just about banking. It is becoming the invisible infrastructure powering entire industries, from retail payments to smart devices, completing transactions automatically.
The ripple effect of this is significant and immediate across the wider financial sector. Fintech’s rapid adoption of AI is forcing traditional financial institutions to transform just as quickly. These changes put pressure on workforces across the entire industry, whose roles are now shifting from hands‑on tasks to overseeing automated systems and stepping in only when something looks wrong.
Yet our 2025 Capability for Change report research, drawn from over 500 change professionals and senior leaders globally, found that 44% of organisations are investing more in AI software than in training people to manage it. Technology is being deployed faster than the people who are expected to use it are being prepared. This gap is where operational resilience starts to fracture.
Why organisations struggle to bridge the gap
The challenge I see most consistently is leadership communication, rather than issues with grasping the technology. In fact, our research shows that 46% of leaders focus on explaining why change is necessary to their people, but fail to communicate how it will be achieved.
This is a major roadblock. When leaders cannot explain how AI is changing the organisation and what it really means in terms that connect with what their people are experiencing day to day, employees hesitate. And in fintech, hesitation is costly. It slows innovation at a time when commercial advantage comes from speed.
The need for a clear, well-communicated vision is also vital for keeping regulators and other stakeholders on board with changes. I remember clearly from my time as regulatory liaison for a global investment bank that my willingness to explain how the organisation was innovating was fundamental to building productive relationships. If a fintech wants positive, two-way regulatory engagement, it must be prepared to explain what it is doing in simple terms, telling stories that resonate with them.
The practical fix
The question I put to every financial institution I work with is this: does the organisation have senior leaders who are able to join the dots and tell stories that link the strategic ambition of the business to what their people are experiencing at a tactical level?
The ability to narrate the journey is an essential skill. Coaching senior leaders to explain how AI shapes processes in a cohesive story builds employee confidence and strengthens credibility with regulators, clients and stakeholders.
The fintechs that will lead are not simply those with the most sophisticated AI. They are the ones whose leaders can bring their people with them, translating technological ambition into a story that every employee understands, believes in, and is ready to act on. That is the missing variable. And it is entirely within reach.
To explore the full findings of the report and what they mean for strengthening workforce readiness, visit capabilityforchange.com