- New research from bunq finds more than one in three Americans have already used AI to make a financial decision.
- Around one in four Americans say they turn to it in stressful money situations.
- Americans who actively engage with AI about their finances are up to six times more likely to report saving money.
NEW YORK, 26 March 2026 – More than one in three Americans are already using AI to help make financial decisions, with a widening gap emerging between users and non-users when it comes to saving and managing money.
New research from bunq, Europe’s second-largest neobank, which holds a U.S. broker-dealer license and has applied for a full U.S. bank license, finds that nearly three in ten Americans say AI has helped them save money in the past year.
While most Americans still trust human advice more, many are using AI as a second opinion—turning to it as a low-friction way to process uncertainty, reduce the mental effort of managing money, and evaluate decisions before acting.
The findings come from bunq’s inaugural AI in Finance Report, based on a survey of 7,000 adults across the United States and Europe.
In the U.S., data from 1,000 respondents highlights a clear disconnect within a country that leads in AI innovation: adoption at the user level is uneven, with a divide emerging between regular users and non-users. Those who actively engage with AI about their finances are up to six times more likely to report saving money than those who do not.
This sets up a cost-cutting paradox: users who approach AI simply to save money or reduce effort see little gain, while those who use AI as a genuine thinking partner to understand their finances benefit the most.
That divide appears especially pronounced in moments of financial stress. About one in four Americans say they turn to AI when deciding which bills to pay, making a major purchase, or managing limited funds. In these situations, AI is often used to quickly evaluate options before taking action.
In fact, around one in four Americans say they are more candid with AI about their finances than they would be with another person, pointing to the role these tools may play in reducing the social pressure and embarrassment that often shape financial decisions.
"People often start using AI in a very practical way, before they trust it emotionally. That psychological distance - almost like opening up to a stranger on a train - can make it easier to be honest about money, which in turn brings the real benefit: saving more of it. Over time, as people test the advice and see what works, the relationship shifts. It starts to feel like a thinking partner rather than a calculator," said Dr. Nick Hobson, behavioural scientist and Consulting Director at Influence at Work. "And that opening up may travel further than the AI conversation itself. It works like a sort of social gym. It offers a low-stakes space to rehearse the tricky conversations, asking for a raise, setting financial boundaries with family, without the fear of judgment that comes with the real thing. Once people experience what honesty about their finances actually produces, the barrier to having those conversations with other people gets lower. The practice spills over, and they show up to the human conversation a little more prepared, and a little less afraid."
Joe Wilson, Chief Evangelist at bunq, said: “It’s a dynamic time. People are increasingly turning to AI for help with everyday decisions - and it only works when it’s genuinely built around their lives. Whether it’s understanding your money or making more informed choices, the value comes from reducing friction, not adding more noise. The real impact happens when AI moves beyond being just another feature and becomes something people actually rely on, because it consistently makes things easier.”
The survey was conducted by Pollfish on behalf of bunq in February 2026, with 7,000 respondents across 7 countries: France (1,000), Germany (1,000), Ireland (1,000), the Netherlands (1,000), Spain (1,000), the United Kingdom (1,000) and the United States (1,000). The objective was to understand public perception of AI in finance including the extent to which people have adopted AI tools for money management, the benefits and concerns they associate with them, and how AI is influencing the way they think about and organise their finances.
bunq, Europe’s second-largest neobank, has rebuilt banking from the ground up. As the world’s first GenAI-powered bank, bunq’s proprietary AI powers every part of the business, from helping users with their finances, to being baked into bunq’s own operations. By developing a product rooted in its users’ wants and needs, bunq makes life easy for location-independent people and businesses, starting from the way they manage money: how they spend, save, budget and invest.
Pioneering many things considered impossible, bunq was the first bank to get a European banking permit in over 35 years, raised the largest series A round ever secured by a European fintech (€193 million), and was the first EU neobank to achieve structural profitability. As part of its mission to build the first global neobank, in October 2025 bunq also took its first step into the US as an approved broker-dealer, with more expansion to follow. Learn more: www.bunq.com