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"This is one of the true real-world use cases for stablecoins," said Tony DeSanctis, a senior director at Cornerstone Advisors. "The cost of transactions using traditional rails creates an opportunity to leverage blockchain and stablecoin as a lower cost alternative."

The 2026 Digital Banking Performance Metrics report sponsored by Alkami and conducted by Cornerstone Advisors shows mobile banking activation climbed sharply, digital lending crossed an important threshold, and digital users are generating more cross-sold products. At the same time, several long-standing friction points remain unresolved.

Twenty-nine percent of lenders believe AI will have a strong impact (over 20% reduction in cost and/or significant reduction in cycle time) in the underwriting/approval process, found a recent Cornerstone Advisors report.

"This is less about the small business side and more about the Cash App consumer facing side," said Tony DeSanctis, a senior director at Cornerstone Advisors. "I think the long-term play for Cash App is giving consumers access to more payment types."

According to recent research by Cornerstone Advisors, digital and neobanks are capturing a massive share of new checking accounts. Some sources claim that up to 44% of all new accounts are opened via fintech companies.

There are skeptics on how much AI is really changing things. Tony DeSanctis, senior director at Cornerstone Advisors, said in an interview with American Banker that Bolt’s layoffs probably amount to “rightsizing of staff” rather than cuts caused by AI.

Cornerstone Advisors' Ron Shevlin argues the $75/month cap — worth at most $900 a year — makes the credit-card threat narrative misleading.

Traditional indicators of fraud, such as poor grammar or spelling errors, are rapidly disappearing as attackers use AI to produce polished, convincing communications across text, email, websites and messaging platforms, according to Lindsay Hooks, director at Cornerstone Advisors. "As a result, the line between authentic and fabricated interactions continues to blur," Hooks said.

According to the What's Going On In Fraud 2026 report from Cornerstone Advisors, commissioned by Casap, 48% of respondents said they don't have a clear picture of how many false claims are being correctly identified before credit is issued.

The scale of the shift is visible in spending data and disclosed partnership counts. Some of the most useful figures come from public disclosures and recurring industry surveys conducted by EY, Cornerstone Advisors and KPMG.