2026 is poised to be the year that bankers pivot from commercial client onboarding being a cost center to being a competitive differentiator. Based on Celent’s quantitative survey and interviews, we have found that banks recognize that their processes are inefficient and consume immense resources. They recognize the need for speed and accuracy. Nearly uniformly, they are eager to invest in driving step change. Some have end-to-end ambitions, while others are targeting specific stages of the process. Either way, the game is on to realize these ambitions and differentiate.
During Q4 2025, Celent interviewed a wide range of senior bankers involved in improving commercial client onboarding, ranging from relationship managers to technologists and operations leaders. In addition, it examined its interview notes from model bank winners in onboarding. Based on these conversations, Celent has extracted and distilled best practices. Overall, five stood out.
Figure: Distillation of Overarching Onboarding Best Practices
This report delves deeper into best practices in specific parts of the value chain and highlights areas in which agentic AI could be the leap forward.
