The State Bank of Pakistan’s Innovation Hub is set to host a webinar titled “How Agentic AI Will Reshape Payments” on October 30, 2026, bringing together experts to discuss how artificial intelligence systems capable of acting on users’ behalf could influence the future of digital financial services. Scheduled for 5:00 PM Pakistan Standard Time, the session will draw on International Monetary Fund (IMF) Note 2026/004, which examines the potential effects of agentic AI on payment systems. The webinar will feature Sonja Davidovic, an economist and digital expert at the IMF, and Hervé Tourpe, the organisation’s chief digital advisor. Hina Hameed, deputy director at Raast Payment Pakistan, will moderate the discussion. The session is expected to examine the IMF’s three-layer conceptual framework and its implications for payment initiation, authorization and settlement. The event provides an opportunity for financial institutions, fintech companies and payment professionals to consider how emerging AI capabilities may affect the design and operation of digital payment services.
Agentic AI refers to systems that can interpret a user’s objectives, break them into tasks and interact with digital services with limited human intervention. In payments, this could allow AI agents to help users identify payment options, initiate transactions, coordinate transfers or manage certain financial tasks based on defined instructions. For example, an agent could potentially compare available payment routes or organise a transaction according to a user’s preferences, rather than simply responding to a single command. Such capabilities could change how consumers and businesses interact with banking applications, payment platforms and online merchants. However, agentic AI remains an emerging area, and its adoption in financial services will depend on the reliability of the technology, the safeguards surrounding its use and the responsibilities assigned to automated systems. The IMF note examines these developments as potential changes to payment operations, rather than suggesting that autonomous AI will immediately replace existing banking and payment processes.
The IMF’s three-layer framework separates the payment journey into intent and orchestration, control and authorization, and settlement. The first layer involves interpreting what a user wants to accomplish and translating that objective into a structured payment instruction. The second layer checks whether the proposed action satisfies the relevant permissions, rules and regulatory requirements. The third layer executes the authorized instruction through established payment infrastructure. This separation is important because AI systems can generate probabilistic outputs, while financial authorization and settlement processes require predictable, verifiable controls. An AI agent may help determine how a payment should be initiated, but it should not bypass the rules governing whether that transaction is permitted. Similarly, settlement systems must preserve transaction integrity, accountability and finality. The framework therefore explores how agentic capabilities could be introduced without compromising the controls that underpin reliable payment networks. It also raises questions about transaction traceability, cybersecurity, liability and the handling of unusual or unauthorized activity.
For Pakistan’s digital payments sector, the discussion is relevant as banks, fintech companies and payment service providers continue to develop digital financial products and explore new technologies. Agentic AI could eventually support use cases such as cross-border payments, ecommerce transactions, liquidity management and automated compliance, although these applications would require careful testing and governance. Risks include unclear responsibility when an AI agent initiates an incorrect transaction, limited transparency into automated decisions and the possibility that coordinated agent behaviour could create wider operational problems. The IMF analysis stresses that institutional design and governance will be as important as technical capabilities in determining how the technology is used. The SBP Innovation Hub, which facilitates engagement between regulators and financial technology stakeholders, provides a forum for discussing these emerging issues. Interested participants can register through the webinar registration link. The October 30 session is expected to offer a framework for understanding the opportunities and safeguards involved as AI becomes more closely connected with payment systems.
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