The demos are done and the votes have been counted: congratulations to the winners of Best of Show at FinovateFall 2026!
It is true that AI continues to be the most enabling technology in fintech, bringing new capabilities to payments, fraud prevention, lending, wealth management, and more. As one demoing company representative noted from the FinovateFall stage this week, there may not have been a single demo that did not in some way acknowledge the role that AI—and increasingly agentic AI—is playing in helping banks and other financial institutions become more efficient and more effective in serving individuals, families, businesses, and communities.
That said, if there is one commonality among the companies that won Best of Show at this year’s FinovateFall, then that commonality might be a laser-focus on what matters most to financial institutions large and small: growing deposits, boosting customer and membership growth, creating new revenue opportunities, and simplifying and streamlining operations that have been historically hindered by manual processes, siloed systems, and an inability to transform data into the kind of insights that lead to better experiences for financial services customers. Viewed through this lens, AI is just the latest technology to help bridge the gap between what customers want and what financial institutions can safely, compliantly, and consistently deliver.
With one more day to go in this year’s FinovateFall conference, we want to thank all of our demoing companies, our sponsors and partners, our top-notch AV team, and—perhaps most of all—our attendees for their continued support of what we believe is still one of the most unique events on the fintech calendar.
Our next conference will be FinovateSpring 2027 in San Diego, California, at the Gaylord Pacific Resort and Conference Center, from May 3rd through the 5th. Tickets are on sale now and you can save up to $600 if you register by November 6th.
Clockout for its solution that drives member and customer growth, increases direct deposits 10%-25%, generates $16-$50 monthly per-user revenue, and creates competitive differentiation through embedded financial wellness.
equipifi for its technology that enables banks and credit unions to offer flexible payments and Buy Now, Pay Later as a native capability within their digital banking platforms.
Goodbuy for its solution that transforms local small business engagement into a new growth channel—enabling financial institutions to drive account activation, deposits, and interchange through connected community commerce.
Neural Payments for its Payments Hub that connects banks and credit unions to every major US payment rail and wallet through a single, fully branded integration.
ScreenSteps for its performance enablement platform that helps financial institutions turn complex procedures into simple, real-time guidance employees can find and follow.
Tweezr for its technology that helps organizations transform and grow by accelerating TTM and increasing developer productivity for both legacy system maintenance and modernization—or even obviating modernization all together.
Vertice AI for its OPTIMIZE solution that transforms institutional growth goals into optimized, AI-executed marketing campaigns with human approval at the strategic level.
Young Early Starters for its investing and education app that gives children real stock ownership, guided by learning and approved by parents.
