Q2’s Next Wave of AI Innovation for Banks and Credit Unions

At Dev Days 2026, Q2 previewed five early innovations to help banks and credit unions build software faster, connect their systems in real time, and put AI to work for employees and account holders.

More than 100 developers and engineers joined us in Austin, Texas, October 5–7 to see these previews firsthand. The innovations we showcased included:

• Software Factory: An extension of Q2 Code for moving features from idea to production in days instead of weeks
• Back Office MCP: A way for customer service representatives (CSRs) to complete digital banking admin tasks inside AI tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot
• External Events API: One secure endpoint for sending real-time events into Q2 without a multiweek custom integration
• Digital Banking MCP: A secure connection between AI assistants and Q2 banking data for conversational banking
• Agentic Back-Office concept: An early look at AI agents handling support case triage and release testing for operations teams

AI is moving fast, and Q2 is moving with it

In the words of Q2 CTO Adam Blue, the pace of AI innovation feels like we're on the bus in the movie "Speed." If we slow down too much, the bomb may go off. Conversations we had three months ago are almost unrecognizable today. Its widespread consumer adoption is affecting how quickly financial institutions need to move to satisfy account holder needs, and businesses of all sizes are seeking and finding ways AI can help them become more efficient, focused, and streamlined.

AI represents the most significant shift in banking since digital banking became mainstream, and Q2 is focused on using it to create value across the full ecosystem—from bank and credit union employees to their account holders to developers and partners—while keeping the human role at the center. That’s what we at Q2 call AI for everyone.

At this year’s Dev Days event, we showcased how we’re continuing to move AI out of the lab and into the real world through faster software delivery, real-time data connections, and AI tools for employees and account holders.

At last year’s Dev Days, our innovation previews went on to become Q2 Code and Q2 Assistant. This year, we shared how we’re building on that work with five new innovations to help our financial institution customers do more for their organizations and the customers or members they serve.

The Software Factory: Helping FIs ship software faster

With Software Factory, an extension of Q2 Code, FIs can ship faster by bringing the full software development life cycle into one governed, AI-powered system. A developer starts with a ticket or plain-language requirements and gets back tested, review-checked code with a merge request already open.

The problem it solves is familiar. Development teams are small, release cycles are long, and good ideas sit in a queue. Teams often build without proven patterns, which leads to rework, and setup, deployment, and coordination eat into time that should go to the product.

Software Factory is Q2-native from the first line. It’s grounded in knowledge of Q2's SDK APIs, so first-pass code is built to be compliant by default. Isolated developer containers and continuous security scanning mean FIs don’t have to build or maintain those controls themselves.

People stay in charge. The FI team sets the goals and approves the outcomes while AI handles the hands-on execution. The goal is to help FI teams move features from idea to production in days instead of weeks without adding headcount or new security infrastructure.

See how it works

With AWS Account Factory, another extension of Q2 Code, Q2 gives FI developers a dedicated, Q2-secured Amazon Web Services (AWS) account for building their own solutions. It’s designed for FIs whose in-house developers can’t host their own AI solutions because of compliance or regulatory limits.

FI developers can deploy AWS building blocks, such as storage and databases, and build SDK-based solutions through Q2 Code’s natural-language interface. The account follows the same security and compliance controls Q2 enforces in its own production digital banking environment.

Back Office MCP: Helping CSRs streamline their work

With Back Office MCP, Q2 makes digital banking admin tasks available inside general-purpose AI tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot. The first operations include customer lookup and search, account lists, and login information, with tasks like unlocking users and resetting passwords planned to follow.

MCP stands for Model Context Protocol, an open standard for connecting AI tools to business systems. Today, routine admin work means CSRs navigate Q2 Console screen by screen. FIs have told us they want AI layered on top of the systems they already trust, not one more system to manage.

For FIs, this isn’t AI for AI’s sake. CSRs get faster answers with less switching between screens, and new CSRs have less to learn. There’s no software to install on CSR workstations. A CSR adds Back Office MCP to the AI tool they already use, logs in with their existing Okta credentials, and gets to work.

Each request returns only the information that user is permitted to see. And because MCP is a standard, the investment keeps paying off as an FI’s AI strategy evolves.

See how it works

External Events API: Helping FIs send real-time events into Q2

With External Events API, Q2 gives FIs, fintech partners, and third-party SDK developers one secure endpoint for sending events into Q2 in their existing format, whether JSON or XML. Onboarding a new event source becomes a configuration step instead of four or more weeks of custom engineering work.

Until now, every Q2 entry point required events to match a Q2-defined format in advance. External Events API changes that so FIs can bring in signals as they happen instead of relying on custom integrations or overnight batch files.

Q2 authenticates the sender, verifies the payload, and then routes, traces, and delivers each event to the right Q2 product or to an FI’s own SDK extensions. Hundreds of developers and solutions already run on the Q2 SDK platform, and getting outside events in was the one missing piece.

In the demo, an incoming signal triggered an FI’s SDK extension to move an account holder into a different Q2 SMART audience in real time. The same pattern supports fraud and risk alerts, partner activity, and transaction signals.

See how it works

Digital Banking MCP: Helping account holders bank through AI assistants

With Digital Banking MCP, Q2 securely connects MCP-compatible AI assistants to Q2 banking data so account holders can manage their finances by asking questions in plain English. Q2 supports ChatGPT today, with more platforms planned as the standard gains broader adoption.

Account holders want answers through conversation, not navigation, and they’re adopting AI assistants faster than many FIs can keep pace. The Digital Banking MCP provides a secure, standardized way to connect those tools to FI data.

Authentication happens directly with the account holder’s FI when they log in to digital banking, and nothing sensitive is stored along the way. In the preview, a request like “show my last 10 transactions” brought real account data back through the assistant in seconds.

See how it works

The Agentic Back Office: Helping FIs hand off routine operations work

The Agentic Back Office concept is Q2’s early vision for giving operations teams a single pane of glass where AI agents help with support case triage, release testing, and adoption analysis. It’s designed to end the swivel chair effect, where back-office employees switch between disconnected systems just to answer one question.

In the preview, a digital banking operations user asks an AI chat to review recent support cases, group them into themes, and suggest which Q2 product updates address recurring issues. The user also requests a full testing plan ahead of a version upgrade. The chat runs against Q2’s current documentation, not a mockup.

Alongside that chat is a supervised view of background agents working on the team’s behalf. Early examples include Change Management, which builds a test plan and creates tickets when a release is coming; Support Case Analysis, which groups support cases into themes; and Digital Adoption and Engagement, which is still being built.

Autonomy is opt-in, so each FI decides how much work to hand off. The concept is designed to coexist with Q2 Assistant, not replace it. Q2 Assistant helps you where you work. The Agentic Back Office concept is about transforming how you work.

See how it works

What happens next with these innovations?

Each of these previews started with a conversation with an FI, and your input will shape what comes next. Some ideas may become products, and some may evolve into something different. The institutions that test them, push on them, and tell us what they need will help decide where they go.

Talk to a Q2 expert about AI innovation for your FI. Current Q2 customers can also reach out to your Q2 relationship manager. 

Watch this special episode of the Cut to Context podcast to hear some of the conversations with financial institution leaders at Dev Days 2026.