The Real AI Edge in Payments Comes From Better Judgment

AI speed without oversight can create risk or missed opportunities, Maverick Payments VP of Product Justin Downey writes in a new PYMNTS eBook, “AI Runs Payments. Governance Decides What Happens Next.”

Artificial intelligence is already embedded in how payments companies operate. At Maverick Payments, we are intentional and not reactive when strategically implementing AI to handle repetitive and mundane decisioning to streamline non-complex tasks. The question is not whether AI adds value, but how to leverage and govern it with guardrails in an environment where small errors can create outsized consequences at scale.

Where we’re seeing AI governance breaking down in the field is at the boundary between automation and accountability. AI excels at gathering signals, validating information, finding patterns and surfacing anomalies with non-complex use cases. Problems typically emerge when organizations allow AI assumptions for complex use cases to quietly become finite decisions without reviewing them for nuances; therefore, we believe governance fails when AI insights are not treated as conclusions rather than inputs.

The hardest trade-off between speed and governance is resisting the urge to fully automate complex and high‑risk related decisions. AI can materially accelerate KYC checks, risk analysis and operational workflows, and the pressure to move faster is real, but speed without oversight can create risk or missed opportunities at scale. Our strategy is deliberate: use AI to handle simple, data‑heavy groundwork while reserving final decisions for experienced operators. That hybrid approach lets us move faster, responsibly.

Governing AI becomes more complex when data and models depend on third parties. Payments ecosystems rely on external data sources, vendors and platforms, each with their own assumptions and models. Strong governance requires clear visibility into how inputs are used, what data is retained and where accountability sits when something goes wrong. AI may sit inside a partner’s tool, but the risk still shows up with your regulators, merchants and balance sheet. That reality demands disciplined vendor governance, model transparency where feasible and contractual clarity on controls and escalation.

The one governance decision we wish we made earlier was a formalizing role of human expertise alongside AI in a hybrid model from the start. Early AI deployments often focus on efficiency gains. What matters equally is defining where human judgment is mandatory. AI is a powerful data miner, but it lacks context, intuition and industry experience. When we explicitly position AI as an accelerator, outcomes improve and internal trust in the systems increases.

For boards and CEOs, the most important questions are often the ones not being asked. Not “Are we using AI?” but “Where can AI influence outcomes and speed up decisioning?” Not “How accurate is the model?” but “What happens when it’s wrong at scale?” Leaders should be asking who owns AI decisions, how exceptions are handled, how third‑party models are governed and how controls evolve as models and data sources change.

AI’s real opportunity in payments is not replacing people — it is elevating them. When AI handles repetitive, data‑intensive work, experts focus on judgment, relationships and strategy. The foundations of trust in financial infrastructure offer opportunity for companies. The companies that win will be those that implement AI strategically and govern it thoughtfully and with focused intent.