AI is arriving as finance is being reshaped by geoeconomic fragmentation, technological change, shifting capital, talent constraints and evolving policy. Its effects will not be uniform: the same capabilities that widen access and improve productivity could also concentrate advantage, deepen dependencies and test the resilience of institutions and markets. Drawing on a global view of finance and public policy, this keynote examines where AI could accelerate these ruptures, where it might help bridge them, and what choices will determine the difference. The session asks what must be rewired for financial systems to remain trusted, inclusive and resilient.

National instant payment schemes are proliferating around the world, yet most remain valuable only within their own borders. As domestic networks mature, the next source of value lies not in individual schemes, but in the bridges that connect them.

This session explores the emerging cross-border interoperability layer: who is building it, how common messaging standards and technical frameworks make it possible, and how governance, costs, revenues, and risks are shared among the parties involved. The discussion will examine the different models being adopted globally, from bilateral connections to multilateral networks and shared infrastructure platforms.

Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of where payment interoperability is succeeding in practice, what challenges remain, and the trade-offs between different connectivity approaches.

One of the central questions the panel will explore is: when one country's instant payment scheme needs to communicate with another's, who builds the bridge, and who owns the toll?

Technology and capital are no longer neutral conduits of commerce; they are instruments and pressure points in geoeconomic competition. Yet fragmentation has not ended integration. It has made its terms more contested. The Asia–Middle East corridor crystallises the challenge: how to deepen financial and digital connectivity while managing exposure to strategic chokepoints, incompatible systems and concentrated dependencies. Its test is whether interoperable infrastructure and practical cooperation can turn interdependence into resilience and give shape to a more trusted architecture of finance.