SAO PAULO, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's banking sector plans to invest nearly 3 billion reais (583 million U.S. dollars) in artificial intelligence (AI), analytics and big data this year, up 8 percent from 2025, the Brazilian Federation of Banks (Febraban) said Tuesday.
The data, released during the Febraban Tech 2026 event in Sao Paulo, was based on a survey conducted by the global consulting firm Deloitte.
The investment aims to improve operational efficiency, data analysis, customer service and fraud prevention, said the report, noting that 92 percent of surveyed banks cited greater speed in routine tasks as the primary benefit of AI.
Banks also expect to invest approximately 3.9 billion reais (758 million dollars) in cloud infrastructure in 2026, marking a 30 percent year-on-year increase.
Overall, Brazil's banking sector projects a total of 50 billion reais (9.7 billion dollars) in technology investment this year.
Investment in training and upskilling of professionals for AI and generative AI is expected to reach 29.4 million reais (5.7 million dollars) this year, up 31 percent from 2025.
The report also said 42 percent of banks plan to expand their IT workforces by an average of 22 percent, with the strongest demand expected for software developers, AI engineers, data engineers, enterprise architects and DevOps engineers.
"The banks' investments in AI, analytics, big data, and the cloud demonstrate the sector's commitment to innovation, efficiency and security," said Rodrigo Mulinari, director in charge of research. ■
