Visa launches AI Financial Assistant to transform banking apps into conversational hubs

Visa unveils AI assistant for banking apps

This content has been selected, created and edited by the Finextra editorial team based upon its relevance and interest to our community. Visa cites research suggesting that more than 66% of Americans who have used generative AI are turning to the technology for financial advice. Yet, consumers view banks as the most trusted institutions to safeguard personal data and 85% say they are willing to share even more data with their provider if there is a clear AI value proposition. The AI Financial Assistant is being offered to banks as a value-added service that enables financial institutions to provide a conversational, in‑app experience for understanding spending, receiving personalised insights, and taking action from inside their existing apps. At launch, it will proactively provide monthly spending insights, respond to natural‑language questions with answers grounded in a cardholder's own financial activity, and let users lock a card or set alerts directly within the conversation. Michele Herron, SVP, head, North America value-added services, Visa, says: "Consumers are already turning to AI for financial advice -- but banks have the full financial picture, can act on it, and are among the most trusted institutions consumers rely on. "AI Financial Assistant brings those strengths together, combining personalized insights based on a consumer's own data and pairing it with the ability to act, all right within their bank's app."

Visa Readies Rollout of AI Financial Assistant for Banking Apps | PYMNTS.com

Visa will make the AI Financial Assistant available to financial institutions in the United States for pilot in August, and it plans to roll the feature out globally after that, according to a Tuesday (July 14) press release. This new Visa value-added service is designed to operate within secure banking environments and will allow each financial institution to offer the AI Financial Assistant under its own brand, look and feel, the release said. The AI Financial Assistant will provide cardholders with monthly insights that help them stay on top of their spending, will respond to natural-language questions with answers that are grounded in the cardholder's financial activity, and will be able to lock a card or set alerts within the conversation, according to the release. When financial institutions connect their FAQs and documents to the AI Financial Assistant, per the release, the assistant will be able to answer cardholder questions such as "Are there any car loan benefits for existing customers?" or "Do you have high-yield savings accounts to help me save for a car?" The AI Financial Assistant will enable banks to offer the financial advice consumers are seeking from AI, together with the full financial picture and safeguards provided by banks, Michele Herron, senior vice president and head of North America Value-Added Services at Visa, said in the release. "AI Financial Assistant brings those strengths together, combining personalized insights based on a consumer's own data and pairing it with the ability to act, all right within their bank's app," Herron said. "By simply turning on this service, banks can strengthen relationships with their customers and transform from a passive ledger to a generative AI-enabled financial hub." Herron told PYMNTS in an interview posted in May that AI has already transformed how people gather information and perform tasks. The PYMNTS Intelligence report "Digital-First Retention Playbook: Winning Gen Z Loyalty at Credit Unions" found that 62% of Generation Z consumers are open to using AI for "what if" financial planning. The report also found that after getting instant, personalized answers from generative AI models like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude, Gen Z consumers "increasingly expect their financial partners to anticipate their needs and preferences and provide real-time, personalized recommendations." For all PYMNTS AI coverage, subscribe to the daily AI Newsletter.

Visa Introduces Ai Financial Assistant for Banking Apps

Visa announced AI Financial Assistant, a new value-added service designed to help financial institutions evolve their apps for an AI-driven era. The feature helps banks bring AI-powered financial insights to cardholders under their own brand, look and feel with no custom development required. AI Financial Assistant brings conversational financial guidance into the banking apps consumers already trust for spending and saving. The Visa Value-Added Service applies benchmarking insights informed by one of the world?s largest payment networks to deliver personalized recommendations. Aligned with Visa?s AI and data governance standards, the feature is designed to operate within secure banking environments to meet the needs of banks and their consumers. AI Financial Assistant allows banks to extend that trust into natural, conversational experiences within secure banking environments. AI Financial Assistant brings those strengths together, combining personalized insights based on a consumer?s own data and pairing it with the ability to act, all right within their bank's app. By simply turning on this service, banks can strengthen relationships with their customers and transform from a passive ledger to a generative AI?enabled financial hub. As part of its initial rollout, AI Financial Assistant enables ways for cardholders to stay on top of spending, automatically: Proactive monthly insights surface meaningful changes without setup or manual effort. Ask and understand instantly: Responses to natural-language questions are grounded in a cardholder?s own financial activity. Act in the moment: Lock a card or set alerts directly within the conversation. Future planned enhancements include the ability to connect spending insights and subscription management through Enhanced Subscription Manager. AI Financial Assistant is the latest feature of Visa Digital Issuer Solutions, delivering a single chat-based entry point inside the banking app. Financial institutions can connect their FAQs and documents via deep links to surface relevant banking product information, providing cardholders with answers to questions like ?Are there any car loan benefits for existing customers?? or ?Do you have high-yield savings accounts to help me save for a car?? While financial institutions can deploy individual capabilities on their own through Visa?s Digital Enablement Software Development Kit (SDK), AI Financial Assistant acts as a central layer that connects existing and new features within the SDK as they come online. Operating under Visa?s AI and data governance standards, AI Financial Assistant is informed by Visa?s global network of more than 300 billion annual transactions. It combines cardholder behavior, real-time data, and the financial institution?s own data to deliver highly personalized guidance with the security, compliance, and fraud protections banks require. AI Financial Assistant will be available to U.S. financial institutions for pilot in August 2026, with a planned global rollout to follow. Visa AI Financial Assistant is a value-added service. It enables financial institutions to offer a conversational, in-app experience for understanding spending, receiving personalized insights, and taking action, all inside their existing banking apps. AI Financial Assistant is designed for financial institutions looking to increase digital engagement by helping cardholders better understand their finances. Within their issuer?s app, consumers can receive proactive spending summaries, ask natural-language questions about their finances, and take guided actions, such as reviewing subscriptions or activating relevant offers. AI Financial Assistant is part of Visa Digital Issuer Solutions, a platform of value-added services designed to help financial institutions deliver modern, consumer-focused digital experiences that evolve with customer expectations. By integrating with Visa?s Digital Enablement Software Development Kit (SDK), issuers can access a suite of capabilities through a single integration point including Enhanced Subscription Manager, In-App Provisioning, Digital Card Display and more. If a bank chooses to white-label AI Financial Assistant, cardholders experience the feature as part of their digital banking app. Banks can also configure enrollment, notifications, and supported actions to align with their products, services, and digital strategies. Visa?s AI Financial Assistant is powered by Visa?s Data & AI Platform (DAP), which provides secure access to multiple leading AI models. We evaluate models on an ongoing basis to ensure they meet our standards for security, accuracy, compliance, and performance.