Workday Video Recap: The Future of Financial Services

The financial services industry is experiencing rapid transformation. Advancements in AI, machine learning, and blockchain are no longer experimental—they’re becoming essential for staying competitive and are putting pressure on firms to modernise.

At the same time, demographic shifts and a changing workforce are forcing companies to rethink how they build and maintain talent pipelines. Traditional career paths are fading, making reskilling and flexible career mobility crucial for attracting and retaining top talent.

With so much changing at once, financial services organisations need to be strategic about how they move forward and stay on the pulse of how the industry is evolving. This video breaks down the top trends shaping financial services in 2025, with insights from experts on how firms are putting them into practice

1. AI and Blockchain Set to Transform FSI

AI, ML, blockchain, and RPA technologies have moved beyond experimentation in financial services and are now embedded in key aspects of finance operations—customer service, fraud detection, data analysis, security, and compliance.

AI adoption in the industry is growing fast; 76% of companies have launched AI initiatives as of 2024, according to a recent report from Money 20/20, with some Wall Street firms even building their own LLMs. Blockchain adoption, while more measured for now, is proving its worth in areas where transparency and data integrity are non-negotiable, such as secure transactions and compliance reporting.

As these technologies become more ingrained, firms will need to adopt the right tools to support new capabilities and implement training and guidance to their teams on how to use them. In many cases, becoming truly AI-ready and technologically mature will also demand a culture shift that prepares employees to work collaboratively with new tools and readily embrace change.

“We have to think about how we understand and leverage emerging technologies,” said Stuart Martin, People Director for Consumer Relations at Lloyds Banking Group, “and be in a position to educate ourselves, educate the workforce, and understand the impact of technology, especially AI, through the entire employee lifecycle.”

2. Data as a Strategic Asset

Data has always been a strategic asset for financial services firms, but now they’re challenged to manage it more efficiently at scale. According to Viren Patel, Strategic Financial Services Industry Advisor at Workday, the focus should be on creating a unified data strategy rather than managing data in silos.

“Think of data in a value chain,” Patel advised. “Keeping data as it flows through the business—from the front end to the back end—is the best way to drive value.”

To this end, a maturity gap still exists in the industry. Workday research uncovered that 63% of finance leaders say their data is still somewhat or completely siloed, and cite unusable data as a barrier to transformation.

Lack of integration makes it hard to access real-time insights and make agile decisions. The most successful firms are investing in tools that support a unified data strategy, centralising data from customer interactions, operational metrics, financial performance history and other key sources into a single, reliable, accessible source of truth.

3. Addressing Social and Demographic Challenges

Demographic shifts are creating significant challenges for financial services. An aging population and a widening skills gap mean that the workforce isn’t evolving fast enough to meet changing demands. Even when companies identify the skills they need, they often change so rapidly that managing talent feels like a constant uphill battle.

Still, they’re making workforce development a top priority. Nearly half (47%) of financial services organisations are undertaking significant reskilling and upskilling initiatives in the next five years, according to PwC—the top-reported action businesses are taking to combat future skills gaps. Technology will play a central part.

“The space and pace of change is phenomenal—and that’s where I think technology is going to be very helpful,” noted Stuart Martin. “With Workday, we have the ability to identify and forecast the skills we have in the organisation today and use the artificial intelligence we’ve built into the tool to infer the skills we need for the future.”

With this level of insight, financial services firms are able to intentionally upskill employees and leverage internal mobility to proactively shape workforces for the future. 

4. Rethinking Workforce Strategies and Career Paths

Not only are workforce demographics changing, but career paths in financial services are becoming less linear than in the past. Instead of climbing a traditional career ladder, employees often move through varied roles, acquiring new skills and experiences along the way.

To stay competitive, financial services firms must embrace skill mobility and create flexible paths for top talent to advance. That means offering opportunities to reskill and supporting employees who move between different functions, departments, or even organisations.

“We need to offer people similar skills-based career opportunities as competitors,” Stuart Martin advised. “I have to be comfortable with you being with me for 2-3 years, going out into a different organisation, then coming back into a different role, then reskill again. Rebadging individuals for different career paths and choices requires flexibility, but it’s the proposition we need to offer.”

At a strategic level, it’s about creating a workforce culture that values growth and continuous learning. Organisations that adapt their talent strategies to support high career fluidity will build stronger, more resilient teams long-term.

5. Finance Leaders as Strategic Partners

New levels of data insight are evolving finance leaders into strategic partners who can guide organisational direction. With AI automating many of the time-intensive numbers crunching that once required so much attention, finance teams can refocus on strategic priorities like risk management, forecasting, and cross functional real-time decision support.

“Finance leaders will increasingly leverage AI to not only drive operational efficiencies but also become strategic partners within their organisations, providing real-time insights into market trends, financial risks, and performance metrics,” noted Viren Patel.

And, as technology continues to transform organisations, Patel emphasised the critical role of finance in leading the way: “Finance leaders will play a key role in guiding organisations through these transitions by ensuring AI initiatives are aligned with overall, holistic business goals.”

For finance teams, increased collaboration is mutually beneficial. More than half of CFOs say they rely on non-financial data from other departments across the organisation, and collaborative working relationships will no doubt give finance teams wider perspectives when making financial decisions that impact the entire organisation.

6. Staying Ahead of the Curve

Financial services are changing fast, but the goal remains the same: deliver value, build resilience, and keep pace with evolving expectations. Embracing technology thoughtfully and fostering adaptability within teams will set firms apart.

As innovation continues to shape the industry, leaders have an opportunity to take a more strategic role—guiding their organisations through change with a clear focus on practical outcomes. That means using data to make smarter decisions, leveraging technology to drive efficiency, and building a culture that’s flexible and future-focused.

By staying proactive and keeping their priorities aligned with long-term goals, financial services firms can position themselves to thrive as the landscape evolves.

Find out how Workday is using AI to help financial services organisations to adapt to the new normal and gain the agility to meet change head-on, here.