Who Will Control Value in an AI-Driven Economy?

Finextra will host a webinar ahead of Sibos to examine how artificial intelligence, real‑time and cross‑border payments, tokenisation and interoperability could change who controls value in the financial system.

The panel brings together Deepa Sinha, SVP and Head of Payments and Financial Crimes at BAFT; Ed Barrie, co‑founder and chief product officer at Treasury 4, Inc; Suzhen Zheng, senior product manager for global payments solutions at HSBC; and Scott Hamilton, global payments and liquidity expert, who will moderate.

Panelists will address how the spread of real‑time payments is forcing changes in transaction choice, speed and liquidity management. Many US treasury teams continue to treat instant payments as a limited option with elevated risk to cash control, while experience in the UK and parts of Europe shows faster payments used more routinely. The discussion will cover how treasury processes, visibility and governance must adapt when funds settle instantaneously and remittance information travels with transactions where possible.

Cross‑border payments and interoperability are set for detailed discussion. Panelists will review efforts to connect markets, networks, consortia and jurisdictions, and how those links affect the mechanics and cost of moving funds internationally. Tokenisation and programmable money will be examined as emerging instruments that may change payment rails and the mix of value held by banks, corporates and fintech firms. The impact of interoperability standards on the movement of tokens and traditional bank money will also be considered.

The webinar will highlight technology trends that enable these changes. Application programming interfaces are increasing treasurers’ access to account and transaction data in near real time. Artificial intelligence is being applied to forecasting, liquidity planning and risk management. Examples of intelligent automation, predictive analytics and automated decision logic in treasury functions will be discussed as practical uses of the technology.

Speakers will cover operational and governance issues linked to faster, more automated finance. Cybersecurity, fraud prevention, third‑party dependencies and supply chain disruption have risen to boardroom attention. The panel will examine controls for cash visibility, governance and accountability for AI models, resilience testing for always‑on payment environments and vendor risk management.

The session will also consider organisational changes for treasury teams asked to provide broader visibility and scenario planning as demand for real‑time services and global liquidity grows. Background factors for the webinar include ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty and geopolitical volatility, and the development of tokenisation and API connectivity that are changing how value is represented and exchanged.

The webinar’s agenda covers trade‑offs between innovation and operational control and outlines practical steps to integrate new payment technologies while managing operational risk.