Artificial intelligence: Brings the new era to the payments industry

Artificial Intelligence (AI) plays a critical role in improving the efficiency and security of international cross-border transactions in the payments industry, according to Buckzy Payments Inc.

It was once thought of as a futuristic technology limited to the realm of films and comics, yet AI’s science fiction reputation has given way to practical use in a rapidly growing range of everyday business processes in the financial industry.This extends to cross-border payments, where AI is already automating processes to speed up transactions, enhance security and improve the quality of services for customers.

Buckzy Payments President and CEO Abdul Naushad, first commented on AI’s capabilities in the payments space in January this year, when he explained their contribution to reducing human error and instantly calculating credit ratings for customers.But the rapid evolution of AI technology since then means that decision-makers in the payments space are now exploring how artificial intelligence can help them solve other payment-related problems.

Recent IBM research shows that global AI adoption is becoming more prevalent across all industries, with over a third (35 percent) of businesses reporting its use in 2022 – a four-point increase from the previous year. Another Nvidia study found that 37 percent of financial services companies plan to use artificial intelligence to gain a competitive advantage. What is clear from these figures is how AI has spread across multiple business practices, with fintechs investing time and resources in AI as a means to differentiate themselves from competitors.

According to Nashaud, fintechs that do not embrace artificial intelligence and integrate it into their entire operating strategy risk being put at a significant disadvantage and left behind by their opponents.

“We’re already seeing fintechs implementing AI-based solutions for a range of features – many are installing AI-powered chatbots on their websites or apps to offer instant, personalized answers to customer queries,” Naushad explained.”But customer expectations are constantly evolving and efficiency and quality of service are at the top of their list of requirements. So expect to see the next fintechs leverage AI-based smart speaker technology to allow users to complete their transactions verbally on any device, without having to call a number first.”

“And in the field of cross-border payments, artificial intelligence accelerates the resolution of transactions by accurately predicting foreign exchange rates,” Nashaud continued. “The predictive analysis can reach a predetermined foreign exchange rate, which means that transactions can be processed in real-time. The costs remain transparent for all parties involved.”

“AI is going to play an important role in improving transaction security,” he added. “The demand for global payments is growing and with this growth, the risk of stealing assets or information increases. The ability of artificial intelligence to detect suspicious patterns or irregular behavior in a payment network allows for the rapid detection of fraudulent activity.With the help of artificial intelligence, financial providers can implement measures that counteract the threat of fraudsters and keep their clients’ funds and sensitive data safe.”

“The value of AI from a security perspective extends to anti-money laundering (AML) control procedures.Financial providers are now developing technology that can automatically verify transactions, which removes the possibility of human error and also reduces processing time, as manual checks are no longer required.

Naushad concluded, “AI has now established itself as a key component for financial services and the companies that provide them. Companies that downplay the importance of AI will quickly lag behind more forward-looking competitors who have dedicated time and effort to invest and integrate AI into both their customer-facing products and services and their back-end systems.”