By investing in next generation strategies and shifting their mindsets about testing, organizations can better safeguard and control the payments process, providing a more reliable customer experience and better protecting one of their most important assets—their reputations, writes Steve Gilde, a director at Paragon Application Systems.

AI technologies can satisfy the growing demand for real-time, self-service experiences in a variety of ways, from supporting more voice-enabled payments and transactions to automating complex decision making and product recommendations, writes Marc West, chief technology officer at Fiserv.

Through chats, contact-center calls, emails and tickets, AI is being used to expand consumers' access to services, writes Jordi Torras, CEO and founder of Inbenta.

U.S. fintechs attracted $5.8 billion in the fourth quarter as institutions sought an AI edge.

The investment continues a trend of banks focusing on commercial payments technology.

Discount Bank in Tel Aviv has made several discoveries, including that customers ask more in-depth questions of its bank chatbot than expected.

With the help of two AI tech firms, two credit unions here are hoping to redefine how members use chatbots when banking, including executing transactions.

The tool runs the numbers and tells small-business people if they would qualify for an SBA loan, and if not, what they need to do to become eligible.

American Express has acquired artificial intelligence technology provider Mezi, which has powered the AskAmex application in the past to help card members find and book travel, dining and entertainment through messaging via iPhones.

Digital assistants are increasingly commonplace, and the trend is pressuring merchants and issuers to figure out how to keep up with consumers' interest in conversational computing.