The Structural Decision That Sets Digital Leaders Apart

Most financial institutions are exploring artificial intelligence (AI). But have they given it somewhere to stand.

The models keep getting sharper, yet in many payment ecosystems they still watch from the sidelines. They analyze what has already happened and produce insight for someone else to act on, but they are never quite part of the decision itself.

So, what separates the institutions pulling ahead? At Sibos 2026 in Miami, Tawfiq Al-Khalili, argued that it isn’t how much AI they buy. It is where they choose to position intelligence within their payment ecosystem.

Not Just a Capability but an Environment

ProgressSoft’s approach, Intelligence as it Stands, rests on three pillars:

• Over the record: turning fragmented payment data into one trusted operational record.
• Behind the decision: evaluating every transaction in context, in real time, while the decision is still open.
• Inside the workflow: embedding insight into governed workflows where it can be acted on.

Each builds on the one before it: intelligence cannot judge a record it cannot see, or act on a decision it was never part of.

Three Questions Worth Asking

1. Is there one place where a payment’s complete record exists, across every system, format and network?
2. Is there a point in your flow where intelligence can be asked whether a payment should proceed, while the decision is still open?
3. When a case is opened, does it arrive complete, or does somebody still assemble it by hand?

If any of these gives you pause, you are not alone, because digital maturity is not a level you reach but a shape you design.

Watch the full session to discover how each pillar works in practice, and why the position of intelligence within payment operations matters.