Reinventing Payments Execution

The payments industry is transforming, as traditional, linear workflows are increasingly misaligned with the demands of today’s digital environment. Rising transaction volumes, real-time processing expectations, and heightened regulatory scrutiny are exposing execution gaps that result in delays, operational errors, and elevated risk exposure. In this report, we explore how AI agents – autonomous, context-aware entities – can transform fragmented, static payment processes into adaptive, intelligent execution flows that improve resilience, reduce costs, and enhance user experiences.

By embedding AI agents within unified Systems of Execution (SoE), financial institutions can dynamically route transactions, automate dispute resolution, and proactively manage fraud and compliance. These capabilities help improve operational efficiency while enabling faster, more reliable execution across the payments life cycle. The report defines agentic AI in the context of payments, identifies high-impact use cases, outlines adoption strategies, and proposes safeguards for responsible operationalization. It also provides a strategic framework for business and IT leaders seeking to move beyond task-level automation toward intelligent, outcome-driven payment execution.