Artificial intelligence (AI) recently became a significant part of our daily lives, simplifying and enhancing our everyday activities, writes NJoy Payments founder Anatoly Makeshin.

However, it was swiftly perceived as a potential threat to human employment, with the capability to perform various tasks traditionally done by people.

This concern stemmed from the idea that efficient and tireless machines could replace humans in certain roles.

While this concern holds some truth for certain jobs, the reality is that AI and related machine-learning technologies have quietly been performing many tasks behind the scenes for years. Rather than leading to a significant increase in unemployment, AI has proven to be a valuable asset for businesses.

Consider this scenario: Parents are preparing their children for a new school year. Instead of the usual scramble to find babysitters and spend hours wandering through shopping malls in search of school uniforms, pens, pencils, and brand-new tablets, they can now handle it all online.

What do they typically expect from an online store?

A hassle-free shopping experience, with a website offering a wide range of clothing options for both boys and girls, available in multiple sizes and colours.

People also appreciate reminders for items they might have forgotten and the convenience of online payment with swift delivery options.

Has all of this been available in recent years?

Yes. The quality of services continues to improve thanks to AI, which reduces the need for numerous store attendants, analysts, marketing experts, bank clerks, and delivery personnel as kids prepare for school.

What may appear as a routine process is, in fact, a marvel of the 21st century made possible by the development of the internet, AI, and acquiring services like NJoy Payments. Now, let’s take a closer look at AI’s role in the world of shopping and payments.

According to a 2023 survey conducted by KPMG, 83% of respondents are already using AI for financial planning, which includes predictive models, scenario creation, and budget insights. This is a significant number, and it’s expected to continue rising.

This trend allows people more time to concentrate on more creative and strategic endeavours that require human minds and critical thinking – areas where AI has not yet fully developed its capabilities.

Successful market offerings begin with understanding the needs of the audience. This is essential for creating products and services that align with your customers’ preferences.

AI plays a pivotal role in this process, as it can assist stores in providing customised offers simply by analysing a picture of a customer or a brief questionnaire containing data such as the customer’s gender, age, location, occupation, and even factors like IP addresses and the device model used to access the store’s website.

Companies can use data to analyse and anticipate customer needs, resulting in greater lifetime value.

At NJoy Payments we see that AI is greatly enhancing the user experience, a critical factor in the competitive landscape of internet acquiring.

Acquiring banks that use AI to monitor their merchants are also seeing significant benefits that boost their bottom lines.

In a 2022 report titled “AI In Focus: Gaining Ground On Merchant Monitoring”, more than 100 executives from acquiring banks surveyed suggested that the most significant advantage of adopting AI is the substantial improvement in operational efficiency, resulting in cost savings.

Notably, 90% of these acquiring banks identified enhanced operational efficiency as a major benefit of using AI. It can also power customer-focused chatbots to further enhance the user experience, ultimately contributing to increased loyalty and revenue as well as reduced costs.

Additionally, AI could assist in managing tax invoices and maintaining transaction records.

Using big data and AI could also be useful for instalment payment. AI improves scoring and onboarding processes, making it seamless for the customer.

This means that more buyers will begin to use instalments and that merchants can sell more. Further, AI can assist in payments for orders with voice commands.

AI plays a crucial role when it comes to delivery. It identifies the relevant delivery companies and assists them in optimising delivery routes to ensure timely delivery to people’s homes or offices.

Last but certainly not least, AI is incredibly valuable in detecting unusual customer behaviours and safeguarding against potential fraud.

It does this by analysing vast amounts of data and comparing ongoing transactions with historical databases more efficiently than humans could.

AI enables NJoy Payments and other sophisticated payment service providers to halt suspicious transactions in real time, thereby minimising the risk of unauthorised transactions and chargebacks.

In summary, a world without AI would be much more challenging, comparable, to some extent, to living without electricity or running water.

AI not only integrates seamlessly into all online shopping experiences but also acts as a time-saving marvel, helping businesses grow and enabling acquiring systems to enhance their services and attract more customers. It allows people to shop without concerns over security or the burden of tedious tasks.

Anatoly Makeshin is a fintech entrepreneur and investor. He has over 20 years’ of experience working for banks and fintech companies, where was responsible for payment solutions.

He and his team are currently focused on process automation in their acquiring products for small and medium-sized enterprises. Anatoly Makeshin also founded and is now developing the NJoy fintech project, which was launched in Europe last year.

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