In one of my recent posts on LinkedIn, I explored the vision of a “Lovable-for-Finance”. A seamless, intelligent interface that empowers everyday people to manage their finances simply by stating their goals. “I want to be debt-free in 24 months,” or “Help me grow €50K for my child’s education.” The user provides intent; the system does the rest.
That is not science fiction. It is a preview of what’s now rapidly becoming possible – thanks in large part to two converging forces: Agentic AI and the EU’s Financial Data Access (FiDA) Regulation (yes. I am aware that there are still uncertaintie and a longer timeline – but we will get there and the faster the better).
From Advice to Autonomous Optimization
Financial services today are structured around advice: dashboards, calculators, and (for many) human interaction. Execution is mostly left to the user. But agentic AI marks a radical departure from this paradigm. It turns the financial services experience from one of guidance to one of autonomous action.
In the emerging model, you describe a goal and your financial agent:
This is not just about better advice. This is about removing the gap between decision and execution. And it fundamentally reshapes what financial services mean to consumers and businesses alike.
FiDA: The Data Infrastructure that will accelerate the change
While AI provides the intelligence, FiDA provides the fuel.
The Financial Data Access Regulation, currently under negotiation and slated to roll out by 2027, is designed to standardize and mandate access to a wide range of consumer financial data – not just payment accounts, but mortgages, pensions, insurance, investments, and digital assets.
It’s the most ambitious open finance framework in the world. It mandates secure, real-time, customer-consented data sharing through APIs across all relevant financial domains.
Critically, FiDA doesn’t stop at viewing data. It enables real-time, programmable access and unlocking a new layer of proactive financial automation. This is the enabler for continuous, intelligent financial management by agentic AI.
A Strategic Crossroads for Incumbents
This raises existential questions for traditional financial institutions. Who will own the agentic layer?
Will banks, insurers, and asset managers invest fast enough to embed AI agents in their core products? Or will tech companies such as Apple, Google, Amazon, combine platform reach with licensed fintechs and regulated infrastructure providers to take over the front-end?
There’s a real risk that banks and insurers get pushed into the background. Reduced to utility providers that deliver compliance, capital, and risk infrastructure while others own the customer relationship.
Financial institutions must now ask: What’s our model in a soon-to-be agentic, API-native, customer-driven future? Do we lead, collaborate, or retreat to back-end relevance?
And If You’re Betting on In-Person Advice…
If your core differentiator today is offering in-branch, in-person advice across customer segments, it’s time for a wake-up call.
That model may work now, but it’s increasingly misaligned with what customers will expect in five years. AI agents will deliver better personalization, more consistency, 24/7 responsiveness, and close to zero marginal cost per user. They will scale trust, not just touch.
Younger generations already expect seamless digital experiences. They’re very unlikely to trade that for a physical branch visit, especially when a digital agent can optimize their entire financial life in seconds.
What feels like a strength today may very well become a strategic liability in the future.
This Isn’t Just a Technology Shift. It’s a Business Model Reset
The rise of agentic AI is more than a UX improvement. It is democratizing access to high-quality financial decision-making. Something historically reserved for the wealthy or financially literate.
Financial advisors, brokers, and intermediaries must brace for impact. The personalization, transparency, and always-on nature of AI agents may outcompete even the most trusted human advisor.
The Bottom Line
My point: FiDA is not just another regulation. It’s the platform on which the next decade of financial services will be built. It gives rise to a new competitive arena.
If you’re a financial institution, you might face a challenge: define the agentic future or become infrastructure for someone else’s.
The technology is here. The data rails are coming. How will you respond?
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