120 FEATURE to spend less time assembling information and focus on judgement and relationships, where their value to the customer really lies.” To see this orchestration – and the process reinvention it enables – in action, look at how banks are responding as digital assets reshape the way businesses interact with money, markets and each other. “Digital assets promise a currency that circulates instantly, ceaselessly and programmatically: stablecoins, tokenised deposits and, in some markets, central bank digital currencies,” says Baviere. “The challenge for corporate and commercial banks is that this happens on top of, not in place of, the existing rails. Treasurers expect a seamless experience as the bank juggles cards, account-to-account, real-time and digital currency, each with different fees, timelines, settlement requirements and compliance obligations.” AI can become an orchestration layer across settlement rails – one that interprets context, applies policy, monitors obligations, supports reconciliation and helps explain payment choices. “Microsoft has already explored proofs of concept with ecosystem partners to validate stablecoin-compliant payment flows, while ensuring fiat settlement in line with corporate treasury and regulatory requirements,” adds Baviere. “In the targeted state we describe to customers, every transaction is tokenised and independent of rails, and the digital currency simply becomes an additional option accessible at the orchestration layer.” Meanwhile, for retail banks, preparing for digital currencies brings an opportunity to further enrich the customer experience. “Digital currencies will only become mainstream in retail banking if the customer experience becomes simple,” says Pichach. “Consumers want the payment to be safe, fast, fairly priced and easy to understand. The strategic opportunity for retail banks is not simply to add a new form of money. It is to make new forms of money usable in a way that strengthens trust, protects consumers and fits naturally into existing digital banking experiences.” This is just part of an overarching challenge for the retail banking sector: to meet customer expectations shaped by slick, AI-powered experiences across other industries, from retail to media streaming. “Retail customers judge their bank by the best digital experience they have, and that bar is set by assistants who take care of things, not menus that list options,” says Baviere. “In this sector, the ongoing shift is from rule-based chatbots to agent assistants who understand intent and context, are aware of profile and consent and can take action: move money, split a purchase into instalments, arrange a payment or resolve a dispute.” A solid foundation – and the right operating model – is essential to deliver on those expectations while maintaining trust. “For retail banking, the right model is a permissions ladder, not a binary choice between manual service and full autonomy,” says Pichach. “Personalisation must also remain customer-controlled, so Mastercard’s Agent Pay is collaborating with Microsoft to make agent-initiated payments secure and dependable Photo: Mastercard
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