Fifth Third and Trust & Will Win Finovate’s Best Fintech Partnership…

Event summary

Fifth Third and Trust & Will won Finovate’s Best Fintech Partnership award for making estate planning more accessible to bank customers.
Fifth Third is the only large U.S. bank to earn a 2026 Finovate Award.
Since launching the partnership in 2025, tens of thousands of customers created estate plans, protecting over $10 billion in estate value.
The program introduced estate planning to thousands of first-time planners, addressing a financial preparedness gap.

The big picture

Fifth Third’s win highlights the growing trend of banks leveraging fintech partnerships to expand service offerings beyond traditional banking. The collaboration with Trust & Will underscores a broader industry shift toward digital-first solutions that address financial wellness gaps. With investments in cloud-native platforms and API-based connectivity, Fifth Third is positioning itself as a leader in seamless, multi-channel banking experiences.

What we're watching

Customer Engagement: How Fifth Third’s fintech partnerships will drive further customer adoption of non-traditional banking services.
Scalability: Whether Fifth Third can sustain rapid fintech integration across its enterprise without compromising security or user experience.
Industry Benchmarking: The pace at which other large U.S. banks adopt similar fintech collaborations to enhance customer offerings.