How AI dominates future cross-border payments coverage in Asia

Only 24% of discussions examine existing applications across Asia's financial sector.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly featured in discussions about cross-border payments in Asia, with 71% of coverage focused on future applications, according to a report by Money20/20 and FXC Intelligence.

The report, titled The New Era of Asia’s Cross-Border Payments, found that 24% of AI-related coverage focused on current applications, whilst only 5% discussed past developments.

Malaysia accounted for the largest share of AI coverage across the markets surveyed at 20%, followed by Hong Kong at 16%, Singapore at 14%, India at 10%, and Thailand at 9%.

Vietnam accounted for 6%, whilst China and the Philippines each recorded 3%. Indonesia and Japan had the lowest shares at 2% each. AI accounted for 9% of overall coverage.

The report found that discussions about AI in cross-border payments have shifted from early expectations towards practical applications, particularly in security, regulatory compliance, fraud prevention, and operational efficiency.

Financial institutions are also exploring AI tools to improve internal processes and customer services.

DBS Bank, for example, is introducing generative AI initiatives, including an in-house tool to support back-office operations and a virtual assistant for corporate clients.

Coverage has also focused on major financial centres and regulatory programmes, including the Monetary Authority of Singapore's Project MindForge, which aims to strengthen AI risk management across financial institutions.

Public sentiment towards AI varied across the countries surveyed.

Vietnam recorded the highest share of positive AI coverage at 100%, followed by China, Malaysia, and Thailand at 80% each.

Hong Kong recorded 75% positive coverage, followed by India at 71% and Singapore at 70%.

Indonesia and the Philippines each recorded 50% positive coverage, whilst Japan's AI coverage was classified as 100% negative.

Across all markets, 74% of AI-related coverage was positive.

The report found that negative coverage was more common in markets where AI received less attention, with concerns surrounding AI-enabled fraud, accountability, and potential economic disruption.

Danny Chung, general manager of Alipay+ Global Growth Centre at Ant International, said AI could also allow payment platforms to provide services beyond individual transactions.

“By building more FinAI-native solutions within mobile platform ecosystems, merchants and users can more easily access cutting-edge technology, from payments, to marketing, to lifestyle services, where every transaction can be the start of a new journey, rather than the end,” Chung said.