Finextra & Cloudera release global survey report on the state of AI adoption in financial services
AI is no longer a future prospect, but a central driver of transformation in financial services; yet regulatory, security, and data governance challenges continue to slow adoption. The question for industry leaders has evolved from “Will AI impact my business?” to “How can AI deliver real value at scale?”.
Surveying 155 global industry leaders in August 2025, the report revealed key insights to help navigate this complex landscape, and how your organisation can lead the way.
The research highlighted not only the maturity of AI adoption, but also the strategic decisions around infrastructure and vendor partnerships that will define success in the years to come:
- An implementation gap exists: Nearly half of organisations are beyond AI experimentation but not fully integrated, compared to the 26% achieving enterprise-wide adoption.
- Data security is the top barrier to successful implementation: 97% report that data silos hinder effective AI model development — especially in large global firms. This structural issue confirms that no matter the scale of investment, AI cannot deliver on its promise without high-quality, integrated, and well-governed data.
- Hybrid AI as standard: 62% adopt hybrid AI, and 91% rate it ‘highly valuable’. Delays in adoption risks higher costs, vendor lock in, and competitive disadvantage.
- Security first: 84% consider a unified data governance and security framework across hybrid environments ‘critical’ or ‘very important’, while one in four rank security as the top factor when choosing AI vendors.
- Winning with AI: With 97% of organisations deploying at least one AI/ML use case, the challenge is now on where AI delivers the most impact, not just if it works. AI success depends on infrastructure choices, vendor partnerships, and robust governance — not just investment.
