Fed's Waller Addresses AI Agents' Role in Future Payments

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller took the stage at Sibos 2026 in Miami, Florida, to address one of the financial industry's most pressing emerging questions: how autonomous artificial intelligence agents will interact with, and potentially transform, modern payment systems.

The annual Sibos conference, organized by SWIFT, draws together global banking and financial infrastructure leaders, making it a prominent venue for a senior Fed official to signal regulatory thinking on AI-driven financial technology. Waller's appearance underscored the central bank's active engagement with the rapid integration of AI into core financial operations.

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While the full text of the remarks was not disclosed in the speech notice, the topic itself reflects a broader policy conversation gaining urgency across central banks and financial regulators worldwide. AI agents — software systems capable of executing tasks autonomously on behalf of users or institutions — raise novel questions about transaction authorization, liability, fraud prevention, and the speed at which payments can be initiated without direct human oversight.

The intersection of AI automation and payment infrastructure presents both opportunity and risk for the financial system. Regulators and institutions alike are weighing how existing frameworks governing consumer protection, settlement finality, and anti-money-laundering compliance apply when a machine, rather than a person, is initiating a transaction.

Waller's remarks at a globally attended forum signal that the Federal Reserve is actively monitoring these developments and may be laying groundwork for future guidance. Continue reading at FRB: Speeches.