AI reshapes payments: efficiency now, orchestration next

Finextra and Volante will host an online webinar to examine how artificial intelligence is affecting payments, the immediate efficiency gains it brings and the case for using AI as an intelligence layer for routing and governance.

The webinar will gather payments industry experts to review current AI use cases and discuss measurable benefits such as streamlined operations, reduced manual processing, improved exception handling and stronger fraud detection.

Panelists will question whether most firms are using AI primarily for back-office efficiency rather than for broader changes in how payments are routed and settled across multiple networks and currencies.

Speakers will describe the current payments landscape, which includes traditional banking rails, real-time payment schemes and new options such as stablecoins and central bank digital currencies. That mix creates multiple possible routes for many transactions. Routing choices can depend on transaction value, currency pair, geographic corridor, speed, cost, liquidity and regulatory risk-factors that can be difficult to assess manually.

A central topic will be dynamic payment orchestration. The session will cover how AI models could evaluate competing routes and select a path for each payment in real time while weighing operational and commercial trade-offs. Proponents expect this approach to reduce costs, lower failure rates and speed up end-to-end processing for both cross-border and domestic payments.

The webinar will also address governance and accountability as AI becomes part of payment decision-making. Panelists will examine who would be responsible if an AI-recommended route leads to loss, delay or compliance breaches, and how firms can meet requirements for oversight, explainability and auditability while adopting automated systems.

The event will feature Nadish Lad, Global Head of Product and Strategic Business at Volante Technologies, with Teresa Connors of Finextra serving as moderator. Background materials supplied for the session note that many firms use AI in support functions but may need to broaden use cases to take advantage of new payment rails and digital assets. Regulators and industry groups are increasing focus on transparency, risk management and liability frameworks for AI-driven systems, topics the panel plans to address.