Payment service providers (PSPs) are accelerating the adoption of AI-powered onboarding systems in response to increasing regulatory pressure and rising fraud risks.

Speaking during a panel on payments and regulation, Anthony Migui Njagi, Head of Strategic Alliance & Growth at Virtual Pay, said machine learning could significantly improve onboarding processes.

“Automation, from the onboarding perspective, will benefit very highly from machine learning—because then it’s able to project things that may be missed from the beginning,” Njagi said.

AI Expected to Cut Fraud Losses by Billions

He added that integrating AI into compliance frameworks provides more than just operational efficiency. “Another benefit is that it allows us to sleep more because we are covered from a global perspective,” he noted.

Njagi’s comments were part of a discussion titled “Can Payments Keep Up with Regulation?” The panel also featured executives from Korapay, LetKnow Pay, and Visa Direct and addressed how the payments industry can remain innovative while navigating increasingly complex regulatory environments.

The payments sector faces growing expectations to strengthen AML and KYC systems amid rising cross-border transaction volumes. As regulators increase oversight, firms that fail to comply face financial penalties and reputational damage.

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AI and automation are now seen as critical components in reducing human error, speeding up due diligence, and enabling real-time fraud detection. For PSPs aiming to maintain global reach while managing local regulatory risks, automated onboarding is quickly becoming a strategic necessity.

With compliance requirements tightening across jurisdictions, payment firms are re-evaluating their infrastructure. The rapid adoption of RegTech solutions suggests the industry is preparing for a future where regulatory resilience depends on technology.

Recent Partnerships

Recently, Tickmill integrated Sumsub’s digital identity verification tools into its onboarding system, aiming to reduce account activation times and improve the user experience for new traders. The move comes as online brokers increasingly turn to automation to balance regulatory compliance with seamless access to trading platforms.

The integration allows users in select regions to complete verification and begin trading more quickly. Sumsub’s technology suite includes facial biometric checks, proof of address verification, identity document authentication, and AML screening.

In the prop trading space, Axcera, a technology provider for proprietary trading firms, most recently collaborated with Solitics, a company that offers customer engagement and marketing automation solutions.

The integration aimed to provide prop firms with a platform that combines trading infrastructure with real-time communication and personalization tools.