IMF analyses how agentic AI could transform payment systems by enabling autonomous transaction initiation and decision-making, while creating new operational, compliance, and financial stability risks

The note explores how AI agents may increasingly manage activities such as payment authorisation, liquidity management, settlement routing, fraud detection, and regulatory compliance with minimal human intervention. The IMF emphasises the tension between probabilistic AI behaviour and the deterministic nature of payment infrastructure, recommending stronger governance, authentication, oversight, and resilience measures to manage emerging AML/CFT, cybersecurity, and consumer protection risks.