Celent has identified five key technology trends that will reshape corporate and transaction banking into 2027, based on a series of 2026 developments and its annual Previsory research. The firm published its Technology Trends Previsory, Corporate Banking and Payments: 2027 Edition and ran a corporate banking webinar on 9 November where analysts outlined the priorities and practical implications for banks.
Corporate banking technology trends: the five priorities
Celent distilled its findings into five trends that matter most to clients in corporate and transaction banking: reinventing the commercial credit lifecycle; embedding decision intelligence and faster, flexible workflows; trade digitisation with AI, platforms and partnerships; modernising the financial supply chain with AI-enabled trade and payments platforms; and new strategies for transaction management driven by an expanding set of options and operating models. These themes were presented after Celent reviewed megatrends, its Dimensions survey and client discussions.
Reinventing the commercial credit lifecycle
Craig Focardi, principal analyst at Celent, said commercial credit lending remains highly manual and argued banks should rebuild lending around shared data and governed AI. Celent’s framework calls for changes to operating models, IT architecture, document automation, system integration, workflow orchestration and reusable decision services for credit, collateral and fraud. Success, the firm says, should be measured by four metrics: risk-adjusted returns, approval rates, time to decision, and credit and fraud losses.
Celent recommends three practical steps: change the operating model to focus on process automation and AI-augmented customer engagement; redesign the credit value chain (onboard and spread, underwrite and decide, monitor and service) with tighter integration; and strengthen fraud and collateral controls using integrated identity, entity, credit and fraud data plus analytics such as machine learning and graph analytics. All of this, the report notes, requires a unified data foundation, workflow orchestration, governance with explainability and audit trails, and integrated quality controls.
Trade digitisation with AI, platforms and partnerships
Colin Kerr, head of banking and payments at Celent, highlighted three shifts that will redefine trade in 2027: the persistence of open account alongside a counter-trend rise in documentary trade in certain corridors and sectors; broad capability improvements from AI and automation across the trade finance value chain; and a market opportunity for regional and mid-size banks to gain share through AI-enabled strategic partnerships. Celent’s view is that the current trade turbulence and rising fraud make digitisation of trade flows and operations imperative, and that leading banks will combine digital trade and payments strategies on platform offerings with AI throughout.
New strategies for transaction management
Gareth Lodge, principal analyst for payments at Celent, described a shift to a post-rail, post-payment era in which rail choice is no longer a back-office cost decision but a competitive battleground. He warned that increasing complexity will require reimagined architecture and processes: payment services will become more granular, some services may sit outside the bank, and institutions must build flexible systems able to adopt new forms of money and routing options as the market evolves.
Tokenisation of transaction banking
Celent emphasised tokenisation as a strategic area. Senior analyst Alenka Grealish said banks can lead in tokenised money — including stablecoins, tokenised deposits and deposit tokens — but only if they commit to a clear mid-run strategy. Banks must earn primacy as non-bank providers, ERP and TMS vendors, neo trust banks and PSPs are also positioning to capture parts of the financial supply chain. Celent expects consolidation among issuers and warns banks to decide whether to play defense or offense, noting that attractive economics and scale will be required and that consortium models may face challenges.
Where Celent’s previsory fits and how to access it
Celent organised a series of Previsory webinars across banking and insurance in November 2026, including the corporate banking session on 9 November at 16.00 GMT. The Technology Trends Previsory, Corporate Banking and Payments: 2027 Edition is available online for subscribers; non-subscribers can learn how to access the full report via the site’s contact us section.
Celent framed these five trends against four overarching forces: macroeconomic headwinds and geopolitical disruption; rapid AI advancements; the entry of DeFi into the real-world economy; and an increase in attack vectors. The firm’s guidance to banks is consistent across themes: invest in integrated data, governed AI and flexible architectures, and choose operating models that allow banks to respond quickly as new rails, forms of money and competitors emerge.
