Payments executives are looking to AI for spend management and fraud detection, Coupa GM and SVP of Payments, Treasury and Supplier Services Bill Wardwell writes in a new PYMNTS eBook, “Halftime 2025: Charting the Future of Payments.”
In the face of unprecedented economic volatility, artificial intelligence (AI) adoption challenges and increasingly sophisticated fraud and security threats, business leaders this year are being asked to do more with less. Payments leaders are utilizing a measured balance of caution and pragmatic growth heading into the second half of 2025, adapting their strategies to the evolving economic landscape. Growth remains a priority, but with a sharper focus on efficiency, consolidation and long-term scalability rather than unchecked expansion.
At Coupa, we have been talking with finance executives in recent months to better understand their priorities amid the current challenges and fluctuations. What we’re learning is that instead of retreating in the face of macroeconomic pressures, companies are thoughtfully pursuing strategic investments, prioritizing AI and innovation.
How are finance leaders approaching AI? According to our recently published Strategic CFO Report, 100% of finance leaders plan to make AI investments within the next year. Most indicate that automation around payment workflows is where artificial intelligence has the most potential. This includes moving from static applications to AI-guided networks that can act independently — paving the way for autonomous spend management capabilities and enhanced risk management via the analysis of community-generated, anonymized data. Fraud detection is another key opportunity area, with half of payments leaders indicating that they see significant potential in AI’s ability to detect payment fraud.
In addition, having an AI-driven transactional data set for modeling has emerged as an important capability. By understanding how different data elements relate, organizations can gain valuable insights into customer behavior, optimize operational processes and ensure data integrity.
While executives are optimistic about AI’s potential, there are hesitations. Around half of CFOs are concerned about both data security and privacy, and lack of AI familiarity within their organizations. These issues suggest an opportunity for internal IT teams, solution providers and others to work with technology and platform partners to improve education and training around AI. One area where hesitation seems to be fading is within implementation — according to Coupa’s Strategic CFO Report, the share of CFOs who are unconcerned about AI implementation surged by 218% year over year.
If the promise of AI is realized, payments executives expect the gains will be enormous: faster, dynamic, more efficient approvals. Reduced bottlenecks. Faster pay cycles. Autonomous processes. Improved accuracy and fewer errors. Real-time, actionable insights. And a greater capacity to scale despite economic volatility.
At Coupa, we are developing next-generation agentic AI to dynamically and autonomously match the needs of buyers and suppliers. In 2024, we announced our first Coupa Navi AI agents, modernizing business operations with real-time support and guidance to enable smarter, faster decisions. This May, we built on that foundation, expanding our portfolio and unveiling new multiagent AI capabilities to help businesses future-proof their operations by leveraging our unmatched $8 trillion global spend dataset.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
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