Companies concentrating efforts on generative AI in the payments sector
Generative AI Gains Traction in the Cross-Border Payments Industry
The cross-border payments sector is set to see extensive discussions about generative AI continue well into 2024 and beyond, as the technology promises to enhance payment processes, fraud detection, compliance, and automation.
Two weeks ago, a report was published exploring the frequency of artificial intelligence mentions across 16 cross-border payments players' earnings call transcripts. The findings revealed that no company mentioned generative AI in any of the earnings calls prior to Q1 2023. However, this trend has since changed significantly.
The surge in interest in generative AI can be traced back to late 2022, with the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT. This product, while not the only generative AI tool available, presented a significant step-change in access to the technology and is widely credited with the sudden cross-industry interest in the technology. The release of GPT-4 in March 2023 further accelerated this attention and adoption of generative AI capabilities.
In the payments sector, which has a long history of leveraging AI for fraud and risk management, companies are now rapidly exploring advanced generative AI and agentic AI systems to automate complex, multi-step payment tasks and improve efficiency. By 2025, companies like Mastercard have introduced AI-driven autonomous payment solutions, such as "Agent Pay", which manage entire purchasing journeys, reflecting a shift toward delegated finance powered by generative AI.
The private sector is actively building out use cases for agentic AI, which can plan and execute multi-step processes independently, pointing to the next wave of AI-driven innovation in payments. Stablecoins leveraging AI and programmable money are being integrated for faster, low-cost cross-border settlements, further highlighting the pivotal role of digital and AI-enhanced payments in the industry’s growth.
This innovation is coupled with regulatory and infrastructure advancements such as the ISO 20022 migration, creating a landscape where AI and data standards collectively drive efficiency and growth in cross-border payments.
While no one player in the payments industry has consistently mentioned generative AI throughout their 2023 earnings calls, the discussion about AI in general trends more towards payment processors and consumer-facing players, including Western Union and Remitly, as potential means to improve customer experience and increase productivity.
Worldwide Google Trends data shows very little search volume for generative AI prior to October 2022, with most search volume growth occurring from Q2 2023 onwards. The ultimate impact of generative AI in the payments industry is yet to be determined, but it is clear that the technology is being discussed for future potential applications, not just in the payments industry but across various sectors.
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Artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, is increasingly being discussed in the cross-border payments industry as a tool to enhance payment processes, fraud detection, compliance, and automation. The surge in interest in generative AI can be attributed to the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT and GPT-4, which have made the technology more accessible and accelerated its adoption in various sectors. [Source 1, Source 3]
