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Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller used a September 29 speech at Sibos 2026 to discuss how AI could support cross-border payment screening, cybersecurity and routing, and enable purchases made by AI agents. He said agentic commerce remains at an early stage, with delegated purchasing requiring more trust mechanisms and safeguards than agent-assisted shopping.
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher J. Waller said artificial intelligence could help payment providers improve cross-border transaction screening and routing, while warning that purchases made autonomously by AI agents will require stronger safeguards. In a speech delivered at Sibos 2026 on September 29, he described agentic commerce as an early-stage development that could reshape payments if adoption grows.
Waller said large language models could improve sanctions screening and anti-money-laundering systems by reducing false-positive alerts, citing research on the technology. Fewer mistaken alerts could let staff focus on more complex, higher-risk cases and allow legitimate payments to face less friction. He said LLMs would augment, not replace, faster traditional anomaly-detection methods in payment systems.
He also discussed AI’s dual role in cybersecurity. Waller said AI could help defenders detect threats, manage exposure and identify software vulnerabilities, while warning that it could also increase the volume and sophistication of attacks. A successful attack on highly interconnected payment infrastructure could disrupt international commerce, he said.
For cross-border transactions, Waller said AI agents could help assess payment routes against cost, speed and reliability, as well as assist with foreign-exchange conversion and liquidity decisions. He presented these as potential applications, not established results. His remarks drew on a Federal Reserve industry roundtable on agentic commerce held earlier in the summer.
AI Could Change Payment Controls
The speech links AI adoption to two practical pressures in payments: processing transactions across borders and managing risk at speed. Better screening could reduce unnecessary reviews, while routing tools could help providers weigh competing costs and service constraints. Those outcomes depend on the quality of the data and criteria used; Waller did not provide performance figures or claim that particular systems have already delivered these gains.
Agent-led shopping also shifts a payment decision from a person to software. In an assisted model, an agent helps search for products while the buyer chooses and pays. In a delegated model, an agent can select items and pay within instructions or limits set by the buyer. The latter could simplify routine purchases, but also creates a greater risk of unintended transactions, making authorization and other safeguards central to consumer trust.
Payment firms therefore face a paired challenge: using AI to make existing controls more effective while building controls for new forms of automated spending. The security stakes extend beyond individual purchases because payment systems are interconnected and support commerce across borders.
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From Payment AI to Agentic Shopping
Waller described payments as an established user of AI-related tools. The industry has used machine learning to combat payment fraud and adopted large language models for tasks such as payment reconciliation. The newer development, in his account, is building infrastructure for agents that can plan and carry out multiple steps, including transactions.
His speech distinguishes agent-assisted commerce from agent-delegated commerce. The first keeps the consumer in control of decisions and payment. In the second, consumers authorize an agent to act under constraints; Waller offered a pre-funded virtual card used to buy groceries based on past purchases as an example. He said consumer-to-business purchases are expected to be the first wave, with assisted uses preceding more autonomous delegated ones.
Consumers could encounter agents through general-purpose AI services or merchant-specific tools, Waller said. Personal AI assistants could also become a route to agentic commerce. He described the field as being in its early phase, rather than presenting broad consumer adoption as a current fact.
“I expect LLMs to augment, rather than replace, faster, more traditional anomaly detection methods.”
— Christopher J. Waller, Federal Reserve governor
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Adoption and Safeguards Remain Open
Waller did not specify when agentic commerce might scale, how quickly consumers will adopt delegated purchases, or which technical and institutional safeguards will become standard. His speech identifies the risk of unintended purchases but does not set out a finalized framework for authorizing, disputing or reversing transactions made by agents.
The speech also offers no quantified estimates for AI’s effects on false-positive screening, cross-border payment costs or routing speed. The research Waller cited was not detailed in the speech excerpt, so its methods and scope cannot be assessed here. The potential cybersecurity benefits and risks likewise remain dependent on how systems are designed and deployed.
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Payment Firms Face Guardrail Decisions
The next steps are likely to depend on how payment providers, merchants, AI firms and financial institutions test agent-based purchasing and define the authority consumers give those systems. Waller pointed to the need for trust mechanisms and guardrails, particularly for delegated commerce, but did not announce a specific policy or implementation timetable.
For cross-border payments, providers will need to judge whether AI tools improve screening, security and routing in practice while preserving reliable oversight. The speech sets out issues for the industry to address; it does not establish that these potential gains have already been realized or identify a single next milestone.
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Key Questions
What did Christopher Waller say about AI and payments?
Waller said AI could help with cross-border screening, cybersecurity and payment routing. He also discussed agentic commerce, in which AI systems help make or carry out purchases.
What is agentic commerce?
It is the use of AI agents in shopping and payments. In an assisted model, the consumer searches with an agent but makes the decisions and pays. In a delegated model, the consumer authorizes the agent to shop and pay within set constraints.
Is AI already making purchases on behalf of most consumers?
The speech does not say that. Waller described agentic commerce as being in an early phase and said adoption could reshape payments if it scales.
What risks did Waller identify?
He warned that AI could increase cyberattack volume and sophistication, and that delegated shopping could lead to unintended purchases. He said the more autonomous model would need stronger trust mechanisms and guardrails.
Did Waller announce new rules or a timetable?
No. The speech raised potential uses, risks and questions for the payments industry; it did not announce a specific regulatory framework or implementation schedule.
Source: primary
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