en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Brazilian banking sector is expected to invest 50.4 billion reais in technology by 2026, an 8% increase from the 46.8 billion reais projected for 2025. This data comes from the 34th edition of the Febraban Banking Technology Survey (supported by Deloitte). Rodrigo Mulinari, the survey director, stated that the sector's technology budget has grown by 58% over the past five years.

Mulinari noted at the survey launch that technology is no longer just a support area but has taken a central position in banking operations. This year's survey achieved a record number of participants. In the first phase, 25 banks participated, representing approximately 85% of the country's banking assets, and 53 technology executives were interviewed. In the second phase, 23 banks participated, representing about 82% of industry assets. Febraban released the main data in advance and stated that supplementary information will be presented at the Febraban Tech conference, to be held from August 24 to 26.

In 2025, total artificial intelligence investments reached 826 million reais, a 39% increase from 596 million reais in 2024. Cloud migration spending reached 3.9 billion reais, up 30%. Public cloud accounted for the majority, at 3.5 billion reais, while private cloud spending grew 87% to 385 million reais. Mulinari stated that banks are investing most heavily in artificial intelligence, cloud migration, and modernization.

Cybersecurity remains a top priority for banks. All surveyed institutions ranked it as medium or high priority. Cloud and generative artificial intelligence followed closely, each cited by 84% of respondents, with artificial intelligence at 80%. Cybersecurity typically accounts for about 10% of a bank's technology budget. Based on the projected 50.4 billion reais for 2026, approximately 5 billion reais is dedicated to system protection.

In terms of employee training, the sector invested 46.4 million reais in technical training for IT professionals in 2025, a 38% increase. Last year, a total of 226,100 banking professionals received technical training. Mulinari believes this data indicates that digital transformation has reached all employees. Currently, 11% of banking sector employees work in IT, and 42% of surveyed institutions plan to expand their technology teams, with an expected average growth of 22%.

Digitalization is also reflected in customer behavior. In 2025, the banking sector recorded 240.8 trillion transactions, 78% of which were conducted via mobile phones. Considering all digital channels, this figure reaches 83%. Over five years, mobile banking transaction volume grew by 169%, from 69.6 billion transactions in 2021 to 187.5 billion in 2025. Active customers on this channel reached 145.3 million, an 11% increase. 76% of digital channel customers are heavy users, responsible for over 80% of transactions on these channels.

Pix remains the main driver of banking digitalization. In 2025, the system had an average of 73.7 million monthly heavy users, a 70% increase from the previous year. Of these, 70 million were individual users and 3.7 million were corporate users. Pix's progress has increased the need for investment in infrastructure, stability, and security.

In banking strategy, customer experience and security are tied as top differentiation priorities, each mentioned by 80% of institutions. In customer service, 71% of banks stated they will expand transactions via chatbots, use generative artificial intelligence, and explore messaging applications to improve customer relationships. Artificial intelligence is already involved in product recommendations, customer service, account opening, and other areas. In 2024, 5% of banks reported achieving high efficiency gains through artificial intelligence and generative artificial intelligence in customer service; this figure rose to 19% in 2025.

Cybersecurity is seen as a competitive differentiator. Among banks using artificial intelligence for security, 77% apply the technology to cyber risk predictive analysis, and another 77% use it for threat detection and anomaly pattern recognition. The main challenges are privacy, data governance, and ethical use of technology, cited by 68% of institutions.

Technological innovation is considered a differentiation priority by 72% of banks. The same proportion of institutions plan to increase cloud investments. The cloud helps banks access advanced technologies, integrate ecosystems, improve operational efficiency, and support digital channel growth. The survey also showed that 68% of banks view product and service personalization as a differentiation strategy, and 52% expect high value from open finance. Sustainability is considered a priority by 40% of institutions, and 87% stated they already offer ESG products to customers.