Intellect Design executives frame banking AI as practical but regulated

Intellect Design Arena executives told FinextraTV at EBAday in Copenhagen that artificial intelligence is already being applied in banking, while European adoption must account for constraints under the EU AI Act. The discussion also covered current pressure points in payment operations, an area where banks are assessing how AI and related systems can address process bottlenecks.

The interview featured Tapan Agarwal, head of payments solutions at Intellect Design Arena, and Krishnan Srinivasan, known as KS, president and region head for Europe and CIS markets at the company. Finextra identified the video as sponsored content created by its editorial team with input from subject-matter experts at the funding sponsor.

According to Finextra, Srinivasan argued that AI in banking should be viewed as a working reality rather than a speculative concept. He referred to a range of banking uses he has seen where AI is being deployed effectively, while also pointing to limits that institutions must address under European Union regulation.

The EU AI Act is relevant for banks because it sets obligations around the development and use of artificial intelligence systems in the bloc. For financial institutions, that means AI projects cannot be assessed only through potential efficiency gains. Governance, oversight and compliance requirements affect how models are designed, approved and monitored once they are used in customer-facing or operational processes.

Agarwal focused on payment operations, where Finextra said he outlined three main concerns now facing banks and discussed where institutions should seek solutions. The summary did not list those concerns, but placed the conversation within the wider payments and artificial intelligence agenda at EBAday.

Payments are a core test case for AI in banking because the function combines high transaction volumes, strict service expectations and regulatory scrutiny. AI systems used in that environment may support analysis, decisioning or operational workflows, but banks remain responsible for controls around accuracy, resilience and accountability.

Finextra listed the segment under its artificial intelligence, payments, predictions and people channels. The page also linked the discussion to a broader set of recent FinextraTV videos on AI adoption, workplace culture, controllable banking AI and technology modernisation.

The Copenhagen discussion reflects the banking sector’s current AI debate: whether institutions can convert experimentation into controlled production use. The executives’ comments, as reported by Finextra, placed that debate between two constraints, the operational need to improve banking processes and the regulatory requirement to keep AI deployment within defined safeguards.

This story draws on original reporting from Finextra Research.