EMERGE 2026 Takeaways: 4 Solutions Worth Scaling

“Have you ever gotten out of bed and felt the whole room spinning?” 

Financial Health Network CEO Jennifer Tescher posed that question from the stage at EMERGE 2026 last month, using the feeling of vertigo to aptly describe the change happening all around us. As rapid technological and economic shifts rewrite the playbook for financial health, traditional financial pathways are no longer working for U.S. households—and cross-sector solutions must guide what comes next. Every decision we make today will shape the financial lives of millions in the years ahead. While we may feel daunted by the magnitude of what’s at stake, Tescher encouraged attendees to keep going: “We can’t stand still. We have to reorient.” 

Over three days in Atlanta, more than 450 leaders working across financial services, fintech, nonprofit, policy, and beyond united to do just that. The conversations underscored precisely what makes the EMERGE experience unique: a trusted space where leaders can be candid—sometimes remarkably so—about what’s working, where they’re stuck, and how to move forward. As one attendee put it, the event featured “less performative talk and more honest discussions about whether solutions are truly improving people’s lives.” 

This year’s theme, “Scaling Progress, Shaping the Future,” recognized that meaningfully advancing financial health requires coordinated, cross-sector action. Speakers, panelists, and attendees focused on practical strategies to move from intent to impact, taking a clear-eyed look at everything from AI governance to measurement. Inspired by those conversations, here are four financial health solutions worth scaling and ways to put them into practice. 

There is not a single county, metro area, or state in the U.S. where a full-time worker earning the local minimum wage can afford a two-bedroom apartment. Journalist Brian Goldstone shared that sobering statistic during his EMERGE session on housing affordability, illustrating how conventional financial wisdom—work hard and stability will follow—no longer holds true in an increasingly K-shaped economy. 

Essentials like childcare, housing, and higher education are rapidly outpacing incomes, leaving more Americans carrying staggering amounts of debt. In addition, one-third of all U.S. workers now participate in freelance, gig, or contract work, often assuming responsibility for retirement savings or healthcare benefits once provided by employers. Households need new systems that leave room for longer lives, variable incomes, and different starting points. 

Throughout EMERGE 2026, speakers highlighted dozens of innovations designed to help more people and communities build stability, including cash flow-based continuous underwriting for small businesses, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), and baby bonds. These solutions differ in form and function, but share a common goal: creating new pathways to wealth-building in an economy where traditional models fall short. As organizations explore how to scale these pathways, attendees also discussed the importance of solutions that are both context-specific and designed to serve consumers who have been historically excluded by financial systems.

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What are the markers of “good” financial health? To create solutions that make a real difference, institutions need a shared reference point for what effective products and services look like. Voluntary industry standards can provide that North Star for operationalizing financial health, especially as federal regulations ebb. 

At EMERGE 2026, speakers examined the power of shared frameworks, such as the FinHealth Standards, to guide product design and deployment. Many leaders openly discussed how they’re shoring up organizational support for financial health, noting that gaining buy-in often requires reframing traditional measures of success. Capital One, for example, shared that eliminating overdraft fees led to a short-term revenue decline. Over time, however, those losses were outweighed by reduced business complexity, stronger Net Promoter Scores (NPS), and increased interest from prospective employees who valued the company’s commitment to its principles. 

Speakers acknowledged that meaningful change may take years to fully materialize, making it important to identify early indicators that build executive confidence and demonstrate progress. Ultimately, though, a successful financial health business strategy comes from aligning operations with values, not pursuing short-term returns. 

“At the end of the day, a spreadsheet isn’t going to tell you to do this work,” observed Ajamu Kitwana, Senior Vice President/Director, Purpose and Community at ESL Federal Credit Union. “Either you’re committed to it or you’re not. When you’re committed, you can figure out how to make it profitable.”

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It’s the question of 2026 (and likely the next few years, too). How do we harness AI to expand financial health, not widen existing gaps? 

AI holds immense potential to put financial advice in reach for more people, expand credit access through richer data, and inform and automate decisions across many aspects of our financial lives. But AI also comes with a slate of potential shortfalls. At its most foundational, AI cannot replace human judgment, empathy, or validation—three qualities that matter most during major financial turning points in our lives. For someone reeling from an unexpected medical bill, sudden layoff, or major life transition, a one-size-fits-all AI-generated response is rarely enough. Many leaders advocated for a hybrid approach, where AI supplements human connection rather than replacing it. 

Speakers also cautioned about responsible AI use. Baked-in biases, emerging privacy concerns, and cybersecurity threats are real risks for consumers, and institutions must design guardrails to ward against these risks. “There’s a difference between advice and action,” said Ted Leung, Chief Technology Officer at Prosprous.ai. “We’re not ready to start handing over bank account credentials to AI agents.” 

To develop products that adequately address the needs of all consumers, data portability must serve as the foundation. Cash flow, transaction history, credit records, and other data remain scattered across an increasing number of disconnected touchpoints. To provide truly personalized guidance, AI tools need access to a more complete view of an individual’s financial life. Without that foundation, AI risks reinforcing inequities or offering incomplete recommendations.

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“Even the best products will fail if people believe they are rigged,” Tescher cautioned during her keynote. That observation speaks directly to what one attendee called “the tension between access and outcomes.” Simply creating a solution is not enough. Institutions must earn the trust of the people they serve, design solutions with real needs at the center, and provide ongoing support to help people use products with confidence. 

Across multiple sessions, speakers explored practical ways to build trust with community members:

• • Treat empathy as a learned skill. When leaders consistently center empathy as a skill—not a fixed trait—and integrate it into institutional decision-making, the payoff is tangible, noted Jamil Zaki, psychology professor at Stanford University. Drawing from his research, Zaki linked empathy to higher levels of business innovation, engagement, and retention. 
  • Listen to customer needs. As GRO Fund Founder Hope Wollensack  put it, “Get out of your boardroom and come out into the streets.” When financial institutions are rooted in the lived experiences of their consumers, it has a cascading effect on product design and customer outcomes. That requires businesses to create solutions that serve diverse consumer mindsets, from helping people overcome financial trauma to creating the psychological safety needed to help people change ingrained behavior patterns. 
  • Be consistent and transparent. Trust is built through repeated actions over time. Speakers highlighted the importance of making good on customer commitments and being candid when things don’t go as planned. 

These tactics extend to the workplace, too. Jamil Zaki noted that economists estimate that disengagement at work costs the global economy around $9 trillion a year—meaning that organizations are leaving immense amounts of productivity and innovation on the table by neglecting to center connection and humanity in the office.

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