Fed's Waller Addresses AI Agents' Role in Payments at Sibos

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller delivered remarks at Sibos 2026 in Miami, Florida, addressing the growing intersection of artificial intelligence and the payments system. The speech, hosted at one of the financial industry's premier annual gatherings, placed the Fed's attention squarely on how autonomous AI agents are beginning to influence how transactions are initiated, processed, and settled.

The address signals that senior Federal Reserve officials are actively monitoring the implications of AI-driven automation for financial infrastructure. As AI agents gain the ability to execute tasks on behalf of individuals and institutions — including authorizing and completing payments — regulators and policymakers face new questions about accountability, fraud prevention, and systemic risk.

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Sibos, organized annually by SWIFT, draws central bankers, commercial banks, financial technology firms, and payments specialists from around the world. The Miami edition provided a high-profile forum for Waller to outline the Fed's thinking at a moment when AI adoption across financial services is accelerating rapidly.

The speech underscores a broader regulatory trend: central banks and oversight bodies are moving to understand and potentially shape the guardrails around AI before its integration into critical payment rails becomes deeply entrenched. Questions around who bears liability when an AI agent initiates an erroneous or fraudulent payment remain largely unresolved across jurisdictions.

Continue reading at FRB: Speeches for the full text of Governor Waller's remarks.