PETALING JAYA: Senior banking leaders across Asia Pacific have made clear that general-purpose artificial intelligence (AI)is insufficient for financial services.
Three-quarters believe AI tools used in banking must be built specifically for financial services, not adapted from consumer applications.
The poll, conducted by global analytics software leader Fico, found that 77% of banking leaders say it is “extremely important” that AI tools used in banking be built specifically for financial services.
Just 23% viewed such specialisation as merely “somewhat important.”
Fico managing director Asia Pacific Dattu Kompella said financial institutions operate under regulatory scrutiny that most consumer technology companies don’t face, thus banks need AI models that are explainable, auditable and designed from the ground up for compliance.
Off-the-shelf consumer AI doesn’t meet that bar,” he added.
When asked about barriers to AI adoption, banking leaders identified regulatory and governance concerns as the primary obstacles, not technology or cost.
Data privacy and security emerged as the top concern, cited by 42% of respondents. A further 21% identified regulatory and compliance risk as their biggest worry, while 21% flagged model transparency and explainability as critical. Just 16% cited computing cost or infrastructure as a barrier.
“The barriers aren’t about capability or price,” said Kompella. “Banks are concerned about trust, auditability and the ability to explain decisions to regulators. That’s exactly why purpose-built AI for financial services matters. It’s designed with those constraints in mind from day one.”
Banking leaders see immediate high-impact applications for generative AI. More than 60% identified fraud and scam detection as the area where generative AI could most improve operations in the next 12 months. A further 21% cited underwriting decisions, 15% customer-facing digital banking services, and just 3% regulatory compliance monitoring.
This focus reflects both the urgency of the scam epidemic across the region and the potential for AI-powered behavioural analytics to detect patterns human analysts might miss.
Banking leaders expect purpose-built AI to become standard quickly. Nearly half (46%) expect task-specific AI models to be deployed in fraud, compliance and underwriting operations within the next one to two years. A further 26% expect adoption within three to five years. Just 26% report having already deployed such models today.
Across the region’s leading banks, the priorities are clear. Beyond fraud prevention, 64% identified credit underwriting and lending decisions as the back-office process that would benefit most from purpose-built AI. A further 18% cited regulatory compliance monitoring, 10% customer due diligence, and 8% internal policy and business operations review.
With 77% of banking leaders calling purpose-built AI “extremely important” and 46% expecting task-specific models in fraud, compliance and underwriting within two years, the focus is moving from whether to adopt to how.
Banks will need to invest in domain-specific models designed for financial services, supported by cleaner data infrastructure, faster integration with legacy systems, and clearer governance frameworks.
The poll was conducted in August 2026 during Fico’s Banking Leaders Forum in Bali. It captured responses from 51 senior executives and C-suite leaders from leading banks across Asia Pacific.