2025 Belgian AI Barometer – Second Edition: From Transformation to Integration in Financial Institutions
2025 AI Barometer Report
Belgian financial sector gets real about AI: focus shifts to tangible results, new barometer reveals
The Belgian financial sector is making serious strides with Artificial Intelligence (AI), moving well beyond the experimental phase and now keenly focused on getting clear, measurable returns on their investments. That's a key takeaway from the 2025 AI Barometer, a new report released today by Digital Finance Association FinTech Belgium in collaboration with consulting agency Sailpeak.
Brussels, June 26, 2025 – FinTech Belgium, the country's top federation for financial technology in Belgium, in partnership with Sailpeak, a specialized consulting firm for AI strategy and transformation, today announced the release of the 2025 AI Barometer for the Belgian financial sector. This year's report reveals that Belgian financial institutions are getting much more serious about AI. They're heavily focused on seeing a clear return on their investments (ROI), but the report also points out some tougher challenges as AI moves from pilot projects to everyday operations.
This year's report, based on insights from 13 leading Belgian financial institutions including major players like BNP Paribas Fortis, KBC, Belfius, and Ethias, paints a clear picture: AI isn't just a pilot project anymore. It's a fundamental part of their strategy. A striking 85% of these institutions now have a dedicated AI unit or competence center, a significant jump from 37% just last year. Plus, over 60% have a validated AI roadmap or are actively updating one, showing a strong commitment to integrating AI thoughtfully.
The push for concrete value is evident. Almost 45% of institutions expect their AI investments to at least break even or even generate exceptional ROI in 2025. This drive is largely fueled by the desire for "Productivity Gain" (a high priority for 92%) and "Process Efficiency" (75% high priority), where real benefits are already being seen. Generative AI (GenAI) is quickly moving from trials to widespread use, with over 60% of relevant institutions deploying GenAI for customer service chatbots, and similar strong adoption for coding assistance. It's also clear that AI is becoming part of the daily workflow; 85% of institutions are running AI literacy campaigns, and 77% are giving employees AI assistants like Microsoft Copilot.
However, as AI expands and becomes more ingrained, the Barometer points out that new challenges are emerging. While familiar issues like data quality (31%) and regulatory uncertainty (38%) are still present, the biggest hurdles in 2025 are now the "Complexity of integrating AI into existing systems" (highlighted by 62% of institutions) and getting the necessary "Lack of business buy-in or readiness" for widespread organizational change (flagged by 38%).
"The changing environment of AI, encompassing traditional AI and the nascent GenAI and agentic AI, will unequivocally reveal which organizations possess superior data and enterprise architecture," said Anthony Belpaire, Head of AI at BNP Paribas Fortis. "This architectural strength will become the decisive competitive advantage for deploying AI services with optimal speed to market."
"The 2025 AI Barometer paints a clear picture: AI is no longer something futuristic, but a core component of strategic growth for Belgian financial institutions," said Raf De Kimpe, CEO of FinTech Belgium. "The commitment to dedicated AI units and ROI-driven strategies underlines a remarkable level of maturity. Our report provides insights into the challenges of integration, but also the opportunities driving true enterprise-wide transformation."
"As AI adoption scales, the focus rightfully shifts from 'what' AI can do, to 'how' to seamlessly embed it into complex existing operations and ensure widespread organizational adoption," commented Nico Vincent, Founding Partner of Sailpeak. "The new challenges highlighted in the Barometer, particularly around integration complexity and securing business buy-in, are precisely where specialized expertise becomes essential. At Sailpeak, we are dedicated to guiding financial institutions through these transformation phases, ensuring they unlock the full, measurable benefits of their AI investments and foster an AI-ready culture."
About FinTech Belgium
FinTech Belgium asbl/vzw is the independent federation by and for Fintechs active in Belgium. Created in 2015, our grassroot non-profit organisation is also the first and largest community of FinTechers in Belgium, gathering financial professionals, startup entrepreneurs and investors, who are interested in discovering and discussing disruptive business models and new technology, for the financial services industry. Our mission is threefold: to promote fintechs, be their SPOC for regulators and other parties, and share information and best practices for Fintech, RegTech, PayTech, Insurtech, Wealthtech, … In other words, make the magic happen!
For more info: www.fintechbelgium.be
About Sailpeak
Sailpeak, a Brussels-based consulting firm founded by fintech entrepreneurs, industry veterans, and seasoned consultants, specialises in guiding Banking & Insurance firms through the complexities of AI and digital transformation. Our team's deep expertise in Business Strategy, Data & AI, and Digital Transformation, coupled with a strong entrepreneurial spirit, enables us to deliver transformative solutions that drive real business results. We are passionate about partnering with our clients to navigate the ever-changing environment and reach new heights of success.
For more info: www.sailpeak.com
Contacts
Nico Vincent
Founding Partner, Sailpeak
+32 (0)476 48 78 24
Raf De Kimpe
CEO, FinTech Belgium
+32 (0)472 36 37 17
