The IMF describes agentic AI as systems that can interpret objectives, plan multi‑step actions and interact with digital services autonomously. In the payments space, the shift could move transactions away from explicit human instructions towards AI‑mediated decision‑making, potentially operating at machine speed.
For African markets, where digital payments have expanded rapidly to lower costs and widen access, the Fund highlights several potential benefits. Cross‑border payments could become cheaper and faster as AI agents automatically select optimal routes, manage foreign‑exchange conversion and improve liquidity planning. Such changes could be particularly relevant for small businesses and migrant workers sending remittances, where fees and delays remain a major barrier.
Agentic AI could also strengthen fraud detection and regulatory compliance by embedding checks directly into payment workflows, reducing administrative burdens faced by banks and mobile money providers.
However, the IMF cautions that payment systems depend on deterministic, rules‑based execution to maintain trust, legal finality and clear accountability. Agentic AI relies on probabilistic reasoning and may produce different outcomes from the same inputs, raising the risk of errors, fraud, cyberattacks and disputes over liability if systems are allowed to initiate irreversible payments without safeguards.
To manage the trade‑off between innovation and stability, the IMF proposes a three‑layer framework. Agentic AI would operate in an upstream “intent and orchestration” layer, while strict, rule‑based controls would remain in authorisation and settlement layers. The IMF argues that functional separation can preserve accountability and stability while still allowing efficiency gains.
The IMF says policymakers, central banks and payment networks in Africa will need stronger governance, cybersecurity and “know‑your‑agent” frameworks to ensure AI‑driven convenience does not come at the expense of trust in the financial system.
–ChannelAfrica–
