We are using AI to improve user experience and fight fraud at scale: Mastercard's Gautam Aggarwal

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the way digital payments work, and Gautam Aggarwal, Division President for South Asia at Mastercard, says the company is using it not just for fraud detection but to make payments more seamless and intuitive.

“We are using AI as an enabler for user experience,” Aggarwal said during a fireside chat at TechSparks 2025 with YourStory's Shradha Sharma. “Earlier, we used AI for fraud analytics. Today, it’s also helping us make payments almost subconscious—where you don’t even realise you are transacting.”

Aggarwal explained that Mastercard’s journey with AI began decades ago when the company started analysing transaction data to detect fraud patterns in real time. What began as basic analytics has evolved into advanced models that now use behavioural biometrics—tracking subtle indicators like the angle at which a user holds their phone or the speed of typing—to verify identity.

“Even if someone could spoof your fingerprint or retina scan, they can’t mimic how you hold or type on your device,” he said, adding that this technology has significantly strengthened Mastercard’s fraud-prevention systems.

Beyond security, Aggarwal said AI will make transactions frictionless. He described a future where physical actions—like swiping a card or scanning a QR code—will be replaced by invisible, real-time authentication systems powered by AI, sensors, and ambient computing.

“You’ll walk into a store, pick up what you need, and walk out. The payment will happen in the background,” he said.

The Mastercard executive also outlined how AI-driven fraud analytics has improved efficiency across the company’s global network. “Our payment authorisation today is faster than a Google search,” Aggarwal noted. “We’re seeing approval rates close to 100% in some banks because the systems are so confident that the transaction is genuine.”

Aggarwal said cyber fraud attempts have multiplied, but successful breaches have declined sharply due to AI-led prevention. “The number of attempts has gone up, but successful frauds have gone down,” he said. “That’s the real measure of trust in digital payments.”

For Mastercard, Aggarwal added, that trust—and not just technology—is the ultimate goal of innovation.