Artificial Intelligence enhances the security of digital payments and opens up prospects we would hardly have imagined.
Let's start with an assumption: For the last two years we have been witnessing the democratization of the use of AI tools. Now, the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the economy and society is more than evident. Its rapid integration into our daily lives, from personal devices to industry, may lead to an even faster transformation of society.
A three-decade relationship
2023 was a landmark year for Visa, marking 30 years since we started using AI models for payment security. As a happy coincidence, this anniversary coincided with the spread of Artificial Intelligence.
In 1993, Visa was among the first to develop AI-based technology to manage risk and fraud in payments, and now our platform is one of the most powerful examples of the tangible benefits of this technology. Several hundred AI models power over 100 products that address long-standing challenges faced by buyers, sellers and financial institutions – such as Visa Risk Manager and Account-to-Account Protect.
Over the past five years, Visa has invested more than $11 billion in technology that helps reduce fraud and enhance network security, among other things. In 2023 alone, Visa helped proactively block fraud totalling $40 billion (https://usa.visa.com/about-visa/newsroom/press-releases.releaseId.20661.html).
This investment and focus on AI-driven security measures have proven to be incredibly effective. In the UK alone, Visa identified 54% of fraudulent transactions which had already passed through the banks’ sophisticated fraud detection systems, suggesting Visa’s proven predictive AI technology is an important contribution to its growing space and could potentially help save £330m for UK consumers, businesses and the economy. Artificial Intelligence is a cornerstone of all the above .
What do we do?
It is now obvious that AI is changing the way we live, and how we work, and for companies like Visa, which is spearheading technological progress, it will change the way we create products and serve our consumers and customers.
Thus, a team of international experts deployed across six continents helps our clients get to know the workings of AI while offering a range of services that support our clients in defining a responsible strategy and evaluating and designing models to achieve their business goals. To support all this, over the past decade, Visa has invested $3 billion in AI and data infrastructure.
Looking ahead, Visa has committed to invest another €100 million in the next generation of companies developing technologies and applications that will shape the future of payments.
A leader in the field of Risk and Identity
The future is ahead of us
In the commerce and payments ecosystem, AI is expected to have an impact creating new opportunities and challenges. Businesses can expect more potential to improve customer experience, management, and operational efficiency.
At the same time, AI will have the potential to play an important role in the fight against fraud, as it can analyse and learn from a huge amount of data and solve problems. With data as the basis of AI, ensuring protection and privacy across borders is key to innovation, market penetration and economic growth.
Visa’s commitment and future in Malta
Visa's presence in Malta dates to the 1980s, when major banks in the country became Visa members. Following Malta's accession to the EU, Visa played a crucial role in supporting the growth of the financial services industry through cross-border acquirers established in the country. To further support the expansion of the payments industry, Visa established an office in Malta in 2015.
Since then, the Visa team in Malta has been steadily growing, reflecting our commitment to the market. Our goal is to continue being a strategic partner and to support the growth of this sector. As Visa evolved from being a card company to a comprehensive payments company, we are dedicated to bringing innovative money movement solutions to Malta, supporting not only card payments but also a variety of financial transactions.
Visa remains a leader in the field of Risk and Identity, continually adopting new technologies – from cards to contactless payments, mobile payments, tokenization, biometric authentication and real-time payments. The power of Artificial Intelligence will be leveraged to enhance security and open up new possibilities in Malta, ensuring that the country benefits from the latest advancements in digital payments and risk management.
In conclusion, Visa is fully committed to implement a strategy that fosters innovation and security in Malta’s payments landscape, ensuring that both businesses and consumers benefit from the latest advancements in AI and digital payments technology.
We are optimistic that Malta will continue reinventing itself as a payments and money movement hub servicing the island’s ambitious plans for growth.
About Visa Inc
Visa: Visa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments , facilitating transactions bet-ween consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories.
Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement.
For more information about Visa in Malta, visit https://www.visa.com.mt/.
David Farrugia is the Visa Country Manager in Malta.