Banks Prepare for AI-Driven Shopping and Payments

by · Greek City Times

Artificial intelligence (AI) agents could soon handle purchases on behalf of consumers, while banks redesign their operations around automation and AI, signalling a major transformation of the financial services industry.

Who controls these transactions, how financial institutions maintain trust and what roles banks and payment providers will play emerged as central questions at Fintech Athens 5.0, where representatives of Google Cloud, Microsoft and NBG Pay discussed the future of digital payments and banking.

Efi Bitrou, Senior Director and Head of Digital Business at the National Bank of Greece, moderated the discussion. Speakers included Christoforos Chatzopoulos, CEO of NBG Pay; Moritz Platt, Capital Market Technology Manager at Google Cloud EMEA; and Christian Sarafidis of Microsoft EMEA Financial Services.

Google Cloud: Cardless payments and new blockchain infrastructure

Moritz Platt of Google Cloud discussed the emergence of autonomous digital assistants, or AI agents, which could eventually complete purchases without consumers entering card details or manually placing orders.

Read more: Greek Robotics Firm Brings Robots Into the Workplace (VIDEO)

These assistants will be able to communicate directly with businesses’ systems and manage transactions on behalf of consumers. However, this development requires common technological protocols, security mechanisms and clear authorisation rules to ensure that agents operate within the limits consumers set.

The transformation will extend beyond the purchasing process. Platt explained that existing payment infrastructure serves different requirements, with settlement procedures often taking one or two days.

AI agents are expected to generate significantly higher transaction volumes, including numerous low-value payments and microtransactions.

Against this backdrop, he highlighted Google’s investment in developing a Layer 1 blockchain infrastructure based on distributed ledger technology (DLT), designed to support large transaction volumes.

Addressing concerns about the neutrality of technology infrastructure, Platt acknowledged that companies developing these systems have commercial interests. However, he stressed the importance of separating the underlying infrastructure from the services operating on it.

He clarified that Google Cloud aims to provide the technological foundation for new payment methods rather than replace banks and regulated financial service providers.

Microsoft: AI agents emerge as a new sales channel

Christian Sarafidis of Microsoft focused on the commercial opportunities created by artificial intelligence, noting that retailers increasingly view AI agents as a new channel for attracting customers and increasing sales.

Citing Adobe research, he said visitors arriving through digital assistants achieve conversion rates 60% higher than other visitors.

For retailers, the main priorities remain increasing sales, improving online store performance and reducing payment acceptance costs.

Sarafidis outlined three stages in the development of agent-based commerce.

The first involves adapting online stores to accommodate AI agents. The second introduces direct communication between consumers’ digital assistants and businesses. The third envisages fully autonomous purchases, with AI agents independently completing transactions.

However, fully autonomous shopping remains at an early stage, with transaction volumes still extremely limited despite trials involving international card networks.

Trust remains a major obstacle. Every digital assistant, whether Copilot, ChatGPT or Claude, must have an identifiable identity and clearly defined permissions to prevent unauthorised transactions and malicious activity.

Sarafidis cited JPMorgan as an example, saying the bank blocks interactions when it identifies a digital assistant on the other side of a transaction. He noted that the necessary framework of trust has yet to emerge fully.

NBG Pay: From processing payments to supporting business growth

Christoforos Chatzopoulos, CEO of NBG Pay, discussed the changing role of payment providers, explaining that payment services are becoming increasingly integrated into the overall purchasing experience.

Businesses no longer focus solely on transaction speed and the operation of payment terminals. They increasingly seek solutions that increase sales, improve cash flow, make better use of data and facilitate access to financing.

As a result, the point of sale is evolving from a basic payment acceptance mechanism into a broader platform for business services.

Chatzopoulos stressed the importance of integrating the different systems businesses use, including payments, invoicing, inventory management and enterprise resource planning (ERP).

The objective is not to keep adding applications but to simplify merchants’ daily operations.

He argued that a payment provider’s success will depend not only on the technology it offers but also on its ability to contribute meaningfully to business growth.

Regarding AI-powered transactions, he emphasised that consumers must retain control over their personal digital assistants. The emerging ecosystem could involve different agents interacting on behalf of consumers, merchants and supervisory authorities.

He also warned that differences in consumers’ financial literacy and economic circumstances could affect how effectively they use these technologies.

Microsoft highlights Société Générale’s AI transformation

Sarafidis returned to the impact of artificial intelligence within banks, arguing that genuine transformation requires more than introducing digital tools. Financial institutions must fundamentally redesign their operational processes.

Banks face the challenge of adopting AI while continuing to operate legacy information systems. A critical requirement involves creating a unified knowledge base that connects data, procedures and operational rules, allowing AI agents to undertake complex tasks with appropriate safeguards.

He cited French bank Société Générale as an example of the potential impact.

According to Sarafidis, the bank previously relied on 1,300 external contractors to carry out Know Your Customer (KYC) identification and verification procedures.

Following the introduction of AI agents, just 50 people now perform the same work, with higher quality, while the bank redirects the remaining resources towards other artificial intelligence applications.

He also referred to Commerzbank and Ava, a human-like digital assistant that allows customers to check their accounts and initiate payment procedures.

The next stage will involve banking products that operate continuously on behalf of customers, using artificial intelligence to deliver services and manage processes.

The speakers agreed that payments and banking services are entering a period of substantial transformation. Although technology will take over an increasing number of processes, security, trust and transaction control will remain essential conditions for widespread adoption.

Fintech Athens 5.0 brings global technology leaders to Athens

For the fifth consecutive year, the international Fintech Athens 5.0 conference brought together leading representatives from the financial, technology, academic and investment sectors.

Participants included major international companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Mastercard, alongside leading universities and financial industry organisations.

The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), its postgraduate Fintech programme, the Archimedes Technology Transfer and Innovation Unit, the Department of Business Administration and Organisations, the National Bank of Greece and the Greek Fintech Hub organised the conference.

The event aims to strengthen networking and knowledge exchange between industry, technology, academia and the investment community, while highlighting the potential of financial technology to drive innovation and economic growth.

(Source: AMNA)

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