Ep. 181 - AI as the New Decision Engine: From Reactive Processing to Proactive Payments, with Mambu & AWS

In the latest episode of The Payments Shed Podcast, filmed live from our London studio, Grant Evans and Liam Gray are joined by Dr. Omer Dawelbeit, Principal Solutions Architect at AWS, and Victor Mithouard, Senior Director of Payments at Mambu, for a conversation exploring how artificial intelligence is transforming payment decisioning, reducing fraud and enabling financial institutions to move from reactive processing towards proactive, personalised financial experiences. Omer and Victor bring perspectives from cloud infrastructure and core banking technology to explore how AI is becoming the decision engine behind modern payments. From real-time transaction monitoring to predictive analytics and automated decisioning, they discuss how banks, fintechs and payment providers can use machine learning to make faster, more intelligent decisions. The conversation begins with the challenge of balancing fraud prevention and customer experience. While AI can identify suspicious transactions in milliseconds, overly aggressive fraud controls can also block legitimate customers and damage merchant conversion. Grant, Liam, Omer and Victor examine the trade-offs between false positives, fraud losses and decisioning latency, and why getting that balance right is becoming increasingly important. A major focus is the data foundations required to make AI-driven payments work. How much transaction history does an institution actually need to build reliable models? Can smaller fintechs compete with established banks that have decades of customer data? They explore data quality, synthetic datasets, shared intelligence and the infrastructure needed to turn raw information into meaningful decisions. The discussion then shifts to hyper-personalisation, privacy and customer trust. From adaptive credit limits and tailored financial products to dynamic pricing, AI creates opportunities for more relevant customer experiences. But where does personalisation become intrusive? They examine the implications of GDPR, PSD2 and PSD3, alongside the importance of transparency and responsible data usage. Grant, Liam, Omer and Victor also explore what proactive payment decisioning looks like in practice. From predicting failed payments before they happen to adjusting credit limits based on customer behaviour, they discuss how financial institutions could move beyond responding to transactions and begin anticipating customer needs. They also consider what happens when predictive models get things wrong. Plus, Omer and Victor take on The Payments Shed's legendary Shelf of Shame, challenging an industry habit or misconception surrounding payments and AI that deserves to disappear. *** The Payments Shed Podcast is sponsored by Cyclops. Cyclops helps payments companies offer crypto acceptance, stablecoin settlement and payouts through one unified infrastructure platform. Find out more: https://cyclops.finance/ *** The Payments Shed Podcast is sponsored by Salesloft. Salesloft uses agentic AI to turn buyer, conversation, deal and forecast data into clear actions that help revenue teams sell smarter. Find out more: https://www.salesloft.com *** The Payments Shed Podcast is sponsored by Mastercard Open Finance. Mastercard Open Finance enables businesses to use consumer-permissioned financial data to create more connected and personalised financial experiences. Find out more: https://www.mastercard.com/global/en/business/open-finance.html *** The Payments Shed Podcast is partnered with PCN. PCN is a global boutique recruitment agency connecting leading talent and businesses across fintech, cybersecurity, SaaS, e-commerce and Salesforce. Find out more: https://teampcn.com/ *** Disclaimer: Views expressed are those of The Payments Shed Podcast hosts and guests, not their respective employers. Nothing discussed constitutes investment, legal, tax or financial advice.