In this episode of Real Talk Payments, Kapil Mokhat is joined by Julie Ferguson, co-founder of the Merchant Risk Council, along with Pagos co-founders Klas Bäck and Albert Drouart, for a timely conversation about what it means to operate payments and fraud in the AI era.

The discussion explores how AI is already changing the work of payments and fraud professionals, not by replacing people outright, but by reshaping the skills, workflows, and expectations required to succeed. Julie shares her perspective from more than 25 years of building and leading the global fraud and payments community, including how the earliest days of online fraud led to the creation of the MRC.

The group also digs into agentic commerce, AI-powered shopping, fraud detection, payment cost analysis, and the growing need for human judgment in a world where AI can move faster than traditional teams and systems. They discuss where AI is delivering real value, where the hype is ahead of reality, and why payments professionals need to become more curious, strategic, and data-driven.

From understanding complex payment bills to preparing for new fraud patterns and evaluating emerging tools, this episode offers a practical look at how payments teams can adapt without losing sight of trust, verification, and operational discipline.

For anyone working in payments, fraud, risk, product, or financial operations, this conversation provides a clear-eyed view of how AI is changing the industry and what professionals can do now to stay ahead.