SynopsisCiti is leveraging AI to revolutionize its payments business, enhancing developer efficiency by up to 40% and streamlining complex cross-border documentation. The financial giant is deploying AI for client servicing and risk management, processing $6 trillion daily. India's sophisticated payment infrastructure, including UPI and the JAM trinity, offers global lessons in real-time, cost-effective transactions.AgenciesCiti, one of the world's largest financial institutions, is harnessing AI to transform its payments business. This includes improving developer efficiency by up to 40% and streamlining complex cross-border documentation, to deploying AI-powered tools for client servicing and risk management - all while moving $6 trillion daily.Speaking to ET's Tanishka Dubey and Saloni Shukla, Debopama Sen, head of payments, services, at Citi detailed how the bank is embedding AI across every layer of its operations. Edited excerpts:How do you see the Indian payments market? What are the things that we can take internationally from India, and the learnings from outside that can be brought here?India has built an extraordinarily sophisticated payments infrastructure. While UPI gets most of the attention, it is supported by a strong digital identity framework, widespread bank account penetration through the JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) trinity, and more recently, innovations such as the Account Aggregator ecosystem.Globally, we are seeing demand for real-time, always-on payments as commerce becomes increasingly digital. Many of the lessons from India-including 24x7 availability, near-instant payments, transparency around payment performance, and a focus on reducing costs and complexityhave informed our global payments strategy.How is Citi using AI across its payments business?AI is increasingly being embedded across different aspects of our business. One area where we have seen significant benefits is technology development - AI has already improved our software development and developer efficiency by around 30-40%.We are also using AI to simplify document handling, particularly in cross-border payments where documentation requirements can be complex. It is helping us in client onboarding as well as payment processing. Another important area is client servicing. AI-powered tools help address customer queries such as payment tracking and transaction status updates. We are also applying AI across various aspects of risk management.As AI adoption increases, many bankers see AI-related misuse as a growing threat. How is Citi approaching these risks?There are two parallel tracks. One is capturing the opportunities AI presents while ensuring appropriate guardrails are in place. The other is managing the risks that come with the technology.How about fraud management?We take an integrated view of risk management that includes fraud, anti-money laundering, and cybersecurity. While we use machine learning and increasingly advanced AI capabilities, we continue to maintain a human-in-the-loop approach because trust remains central to banking.Cybersecurity has always been a critical focus area for us. In our payments business, we move around $6 trillion daily, so managing cyber risk is essential. AI-related risks are now increasingly being integrated into that framework.Improving cross-border payments has been a major focus globally. What are the biggest challenges, and how is Citi addressing them?For clients, cross-border payments come down to three priorities: speed, cost, and transparency.Technology plays an important role in improving speed, but simplifying regulations and documentation requirements, and standardising processes, can have an even bigger impact on both speed and cost.Transparency is equally important. Clients want to know where a payment is, when it will arrive, and how much it will cost. We have integrated Swift GPI capabilities into our platforms so clients can track payments in real time.We have also connected our global cross-border payments network with India's instant payments infrastructure through Citi Payments Express.Read More News on...moreless