Transaction banking in 2026: Why client satisfaction no longer guarantees loyalty

Transaction banking is entering a paradoxical moment. Client satisfaction has never been higher, yet client loyalty has never been weaker. Further, transaction banks are shifting from growth-driven partnerships to risk-driven diversification. They’re fragmenting their banking relationships to reduce risk exposure, while simultaneously demanding faster integration, real-time data, and better decision support.

For transaction banks, the message is clear; high satisfaction is no longer enough, and competitive advantage now depends on operational resilience, connectivity, and data-driven insight—delivered at scale.

These summary findings emerged from CGI’s 2025 Transaction Banking Survey and provide a look at what lies ahead in 2026. The survey captured views from 356 corporate executives and 357 banking providers.

In this blog are five key survey insights that support these conclusions and may reset transaction banking strategy in 2026.

1. The advisory gap is real and fixable

Banks and corporates agree that strategic financial advice matters. Yet execution tells a different story.

While 96% of corporates rank strategic advice as a top priority, they consistently experience friction in the fundamentals that make this advice actionable: bank integration, credit access, and real-time data. The opportunity is not to talk more, but to enable advice with better infrastructure and insight.

2. Satisfaction masks churn risk

Despite 97% satisfaction with primary banking partners, 79% of corporates increased the number of banks they work with in the past year.

The driver is no longer geographic expansion; it’s counterparty risk. Banking relationships are being diversified defensively, not expanded optimistically. In this environment, retention depends less on relationship depth and more on how easy a bank is to plug into the client’s ecosystem.

3. Real-time data is the new differentiator

Banks significantly underestimate the value of real-time forecasting and liquidity visibility.

Only 31% of banks see real-time forecasting as high value, compared to 83% of corporates. As real-time payments accelerate, the ability to interpret cash positions instantly becomes mission-critical for CFOs and treasurers. The constraint is not demand; it’s legacy data fragmentation.

4. Managed services reaches a tipping point

Two-thirds of banks are now willing to rely on managed services for their trade finance operations, and nearly 60% are open to managed services for payments.

This reflects a fundamental shift; banks are moving from “build everything” to “rent resilience.” Cost matters, but operational continuity, talent scarcity, and scalability now matter more. The remaining barrier is trust; providers must demonstrate bank-grade reliability at industrial scale.

5. AI is stuck on defense, while clients want offense

Banks are deploying artificial intelligence primarily to protect the institution in the areas of security, privacy, and fraud. Corporates want something else entirely.

Within three years, the top AI expectation from clients is improved decision support. Forecasting, liquidity optimization, and proactive recommendations are where AI can create visible client value. The competitive shift will come when AI moves from the back office to the client dashboard.

The reality gap: Where banks are falling behind client expectations

The survey exposes a persistent misalignment between what banks emphasize and what corporates value. Banks aim to differentiate through relationship and advisory presence. Corporates differentiate banks based on utility:

• How easily can I integrate?
• How fast can I onboard?
• How clearly can I see my liquidity—right now?

This “reality gap” explains why satisfied clients still add banks, and why switching costs continue to fall.

What does this mean for transaction banking leaders?

Risk-driven diversification requires centralized visibility
Corporates are adding banks externally while centralizing treasury internally. This creates demand for a single, real-time view of liquidity across institutions, not deeper dependency on any one provider.

Operations must be industrialized
Managed services is no longer a cost lever; it’s a resilience strategy. Banks that industrialize operations can scale faster, absorb volatility more easily, and redirect investment toward client-facing differentiation.

Real-time payments demand real-time intelligence
Real-time payments without real-time forecasting create new risks. Data architecture, not product features, will determine which banks can meet client expectations.

Advisory must become data driven
Human relationship managers alone cannot scale insight. The future of advisory is augmented by AI agents that translate transaction data into proactive, personalized recommendations.

How can banks close the gap?

Transaction banks can realign strategy with client reality through pragmatic modernization:

• Integration as a differentiator
  Platforms such as CGI All Payments and CGI Trade360 act as connectivity layers that simplify ERP integration, accelerate onboarding, and reduce friction in multi-bank environments.
• Operational resilience as a service
  Operational capabilities, such as CGI Business Process Services, enable banks to industrialize payments and trade operations with bank-grade reliability, scalability, and risk controls.
• Real-time data hubs
  Modern data architectures that aggregate multi-bank, multi-system information can enable real-time reporting and forecasting for corporates.
• Agentic AI for scalable advisory
  AI agents that analyze transaction flows and historical behavior to deliver proactive insights on liquidity, risk, and funding, turning advisory from aspiration into execution.

The bottom line

In 2026, transaction banking success is no longer defined by satisfaction scores or relationship depth alone. It’s defined by resilience, connectivity, and insight.

Banks that win will be those that make themselves the easiest to integrate with, the safest to rely on, and the most intelligent partner in a fragmented, risk-aware financial ecosystem.

CGI helps make that shift real. To learn more about our work, contact me below or visit cgi.com. Also, reach out to me for further discussion on our survey findings.