Samant Nagpal: Fighting AI with AI and Building Trust in the Agentic Era
Anastasia with Samant Nagpal, Head of Payments and Risk at Gusto
Samant Nagpal from Gusto opens the conversation by addressing how generative AI is transforming the fraud landscape. While Gusto continues to maintain historically low loss rates through dynamic, risk-based decisioning, Samant highlights that AI has lowered the barrier for bad actors, increasing the scale and sophistication of scams. Deepfakes and social engineering are becoming more prevalent, challenging organisations to stay ahead.
He emphasises that in a future where billions of AI agents interact by 2030, risk will inevitably need to be managed by AI itself. Samant frames this as an exciting opportunity: as AI boosts productivity and accessibility, it also introduces new risks that must be mitigated intelligently.
Discussing Gusto’s approach to scalable and adaptive risk management, Samant stresses that risk is not just about identity verification but about nurturing good users and ensuring fair treatment across the customer journey. He advocates for systems that “fail gracefully” when false positives occur and for maintaining trust through human-in-the-loop interventions.
Looking to the future, Samant predicts a world of “Know Your Agent” (KYA) and similar frameworks emerging as commerce becomes increasingly agentic. The intersection of good and bad agents and humans will redefine trust management. His final message is clear: in a world driven by AI, trust will be the most valuable currency.
Mira Srinivasan: The Evolving Nature of Fraud and the Philosophy of Risk Management
with Mira Srinivasan, Chief Risk Officer at Bluevine
Mira Srinivasan from Bluevine continues the conversation with a deep dive into the constantly evolving world of fraud. She explains that no type of fraud truly disappears; it simply changes form. Traditional types such as first-party, third-party, and synthetic fraud persist but have scaled in sophistication, especially since the pandemic.
Mira highlights emerging trends such as AI-generated documents and licenses, as well as highly complex account takeover schemes and sleeper accounts that disguise malicious activity within legitimate behaviour. These trends make fraud detection increasingly challenging.
Balancing security and customer experience is a central theme of her approach. Mira discusses how step-up authentication, dynamic validation, and intelligent data collection allow Bluevine to verify users effectively while maintaining a seamless experience. She views risk management not merely as loss prevention but as a driver of customer trust and growth.
AI plays a dual role in this ecosystem. While it aids fraudsters, it also empowers defenders. From machine learning models that identify behavioural patterns to AI agents supporting manual validation and document analysis, AI helps companies operate securely at scale.
Mira concludes with a powerful piece of advice: build feedback loops. Collaboration across departments and rapid learning from reviewed cases are essential. Risk management should not exist in isolation but as a shared responsibility across the entire organisation.
Luke Tuttle: Building Global Trust and Real-World Utility through Blockchain and AI
with Luke Tuttle, Chief Product and Technology Officer at MoneyGram
Luke Tuttle, Chief Product and Technology Officer at MoneyGram, joins to discuss the company’s evolution and the growing influence of blockchain and stablecoins in global payments. Reflecting on his decade in the industry, Luke notes how the focus has shifted from alternative payment methods to blockchain-driven innovation.
In his recent session, “Reshaping Global Money Movement through the Blockchain,” Luke encouraged businesses to move beyond pilot projects and begin real-world implementation. MoneyGram’s Ramps product exemplifies this approach. The API enables crypto-to-cash conversions through MoneyGram’s vast global network, offering users practical, regulated access to digital assets.
He shares an example from Colombia, where MoneyGram launched a non-custodial wallet that empowers receivers of remittances to manage when and how they collect funds. This innovation enhances user safety and autonomy while addressing real-world issues such as theft risk after cash pickup.
On AI, Luke reveals that MoneyGram has embedded AI tools across its operations, from developer support to a new AI-native risk platform already in production. Although early in its rollout, this initiative signals the company’s deep commitment to technological advancement in fraud prevention and decision-making.
Looking ahead, Luke believes the next leap in global payments will hinge on ubiquity and integration. The winning strategy will blend digital and physical infrastructure, balancing compliance, customer experience, and local relevance. For MoneyGram, with its 85-year legacy, this means leveraging its trusted brand and extensive global reach to deliver true omnichannel financial access.
Billi Jo Wright: Empowering Growth through Responsible Risk and Collaborative Compliance
with Billi Jo Wright, Chief Risk and Compliance Officer at Worldpay for Platforms
Billi Jo Wright, Chief Risk and Compliance Officer at Worldpay for Platforms, joins Anastasia to share her insights on how the role of risk and compliance leaders has evolved in a rapidly changing financial landscape. With over two decades of experience in risk operations, Billi Jo reflects on how expectations have shifted from purely protecting companies to actively driving growth and innovation in a responsible way.
She explains that today’s risk leaders are expected to act as strategic partners, contributing directly to business goals while navigating an increasingly complex environment marked by disruption in crypto, stablecoins, cross-border payments, and peer-to-peer transactions. AI, she notes, has become a key focus both for its ability to streamline operations and for the new risks it introduces.
When it comes to combining innovation and protection, Billi Jo emphasises that AI can be a powerful enabler when implemented responsibly. It allows organisations to use data to identify fraud more precisely and automate processes, ultimately enhancing both security and the user experience. Her guiding principle for adopting AI is simple but effective: educate, innovate, then regulate. By starting small, learning from early implementations, and maintaining clear governance, firms can adopt AI in a controlled and ethical manner.
Discussing compliance in an era of tightening regulation, Billi Jo advocates for adaptability over reactivity. She highlights the importance of partnering with third-party experts who bring specialised knowledge and innovative technology to the table. By leveraging these partnerships, organisations can remain flexible and proactive rather than constantly responding to threats as they emerge. She also stresses the value of data-led decision making and ongoing collaboration with trusted partners who share the same goals and commitment to compliance.
Her approach to vendor assessment is equally strategic. Stability, scalability, and alignment with business needs are essential, but so too is a partner’s willingness to collaborate and innovate. Through continuous testing and data studies, Worldpay ensures that every partnership delivers measurable impact and aligns with its mission to build trust and efficiency.
Offering advice to compliance teams, Billi Jo encourages professionals to remain deeply engaged in the industry. By actively networking with peers, sharing insights, and discussing emerging trends, teams can stay ahead of new risks. She also advocates for risk professionals to understand the commercial side of the business. Having worked in sales herself, she recognises how valuable it is for risk teams to view themselves as sales enablers, collaborators who help their companies say “yes” to opportunities, rather than defaulting to “no” out of caution.
