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Commerce and Payments: AI, Embedded Finance, and Orchestration at the Heart of Trends

Auteur n°3 – Benjamin

By Benjamin Massa
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Summary – The redefinition of digital commerce through AI, embedded finance and payment orchestration compels Swiss businesses to streamline customer journeys, secure transaction flows and drive growth. Real-time hyper-personalization, AI-powered POS terminals, immersive live commerce, integrated payments (B2B, BNPL, financial APIs) and a central orchestrator unify channels and compliance while optimizing costs and performance.
Solution: audit of the current setup and a modular AI/finance/orchestration roadmap, deployed via open APIs and microservices for agility, security and rapid ROI.

The era of digital commerce is being redefined by artificial intelligence, embedded finance, and payment orchestration. Companies of all sizes, from large organizations to Swiss SMEs, must rethink their purchasing and settlement journeys to stay competitive.

These innovations push the boundaries of the customer experience, streamline the operational chain, and open up new growth opportunities. By embracing these trends, IT and business departments align performance, security, and agility. This article explores how AI, embedded finance, and orchestration are transforming payment models and how companies can leverage these drivers to deliver a seamless and secure payment experience.

Artificial Intelligence and Commerce: Hyper-Personalized Interactions

AI algorithms reconfigure every touchpoint to deliver tailor-made shopping journeys. They anticipate needs and optimize conversion rates in real time.

Hyper-Personalization and Dynamic Recommendations

Real-time behavioral data analysis enables the proposal of products and services tailored to each profile. Recommendation engines rely on predictive models to anticipate preferences and significantly reduce cart abandonment rates. This granular personalization applies to web, mobile, and even instant messaging applications.

Beyond purchase history, AI analyzes weak signals—such as browsing behavior, clicks, and time spent—to enrich customer profiles and refine offerings. Machine learning models feed on this feedback to continuously improve and detect new consumption patterns. However, the performance of these systems depends on rigorous data governance and modular architectures that ensure scalability and security.

In an omnichannel context, these technologies integrate via open APIs or front-end microservices. Adaptive interfaces display dynamic offers, synchronized with inventory and marketing campaigns. This synergy between AI and business services reinforces user journey coherence and fosters sustainable organic growth.

Smart POS and Virtual Assistants in Retail

Next-generation payment terminals incorporate AI to recognize in-store shopping habits and offer personalized deals at checkout. These systems leverage computer vision to detect scanned products and automatically suggest complementary services or promotions. The experience thus converges digital and physical channels.

In-store chatbots and voice assistants enhance interaction by guiding customers to the right aisles and facilitating product searches. They leverage contextual and historical knowledge to streamline the journey and reduce wait times. Conversational AI learns from each interaction and refines its responses over time.

Thanks to edge computing, these functions can be executed locally on embedded terminals, ensuring responsiveness and data privacy. The modular architecture allows for the gradual deployment of these terminals across retail networks without compromising central systems or the performance of other in-store applications.

Live Commerce and Immersive Experience

Live commerce combines video streaming with instant purchase features, creating an interactive showcase. Integrated into native platforms or proprietary apps, this approach leverages AI to analyze viewer sentiment and adjust the live merchandising script. Featured products can be scanned on-screen and added to the cart with a single click.

A fashion retailer launched weekly live product demonstration sessions coupled with an embedded payment widget. This initiative showed that viewers convert up to 15% more than in traditional e-commerce, confirming the value of an immersive, AI-driven format for engaging the community and boosting commitment.

Analysis of live interactions (votes, comments, shares) feeds dashboards that measure session ROI and identify brand advocates. This feedback loop is essential for calibrating future content and optimizing the proposed product mix. Discover concrete use cases.

Embedded Finance: Payment as an Integrated Service

Embedded finance turns every touchpoint into an opportunity for seamless, contextual payments. Companies natively embed financial services to simplify the customer experience and accelerate cash flow.

Smooth Integration into B2B Platforms

In B2B, embedded finance allows payment options to be included directly within ERP or CRM environments. Buyers authorize one-click payments without leaving their business interface, streamlining the approval chain and shortening invoice closing times.

Automated workflows handle the sequence of operations: purchase approval, invoice generation, immediate or deferred financing. Credit card or leasing APIs can plug directly into these systems, offering increased flexibility for project budgets.

A mid-sized manufacturer adopted an embedded financing solution in its procurement portal. It demonstrated a 30% reduction in client payment times while freeing its finance teams from manual follow-ups and due date management.

Buy Now, Pay Later and Modular Credit Solutions

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) and modular credit offerings now appear in e-commerce journeys and even in stores via smart terminals. These options break payments into multiple installments without external banking interfaces, thereby simplifying the process for the buyer.

Underwriting algorithms assess creditworthiness and default risk in milliseconds, leveraging real-time data. Companies can thus offer personalized payment plans tailored to the customer’s profile and history while controlling their risk exposure.

This credit modularity often pairs with value-added services such as optional insurance or extended warranties, which activate directly when selecting the payment option. This convergence enhances offer appeal and boosts average order value.

Monetizing Services via Financial APIs

SaaS platforms add a monetization layer by exposing payment and account management APIs. Partners integrate these building blocks to create high-value business applications without developing financial features in-house.

These APIs cover the issuance of digital wallets, multi-currency wallet management, recurring payment processing, and automatic reconciliation. They rely on secure, modular microservices aligned with PSD2 and GDPR standards to ensure compliance and traceability.

This approach accelerates the time to market for new financial services and diversifies revenue sources while minimizing R&D investments in complex, regulated components.

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Payment Orchestration and Unification: Simplifying Complexity

Orchestration centralizes payment flows to provide a unified, controllable view of all transactions. It optimizes journeys and reduces operational costs.

Flow Centralization and Multi-Method Selection

The payment orchestrator aggregates channels (card, mobile wallet, instant transfer) and dynamically selects the most suitable method based on customer profile, transaction cost, and geographic context. This flexibility reduces transaction failures and limits currency exchange or routing fees. See how to connect silos to accelerate digital transformation.

The system uses configurable business rules to prioritize acquirers, balance load, and ensure redundancy in case of incidents. Flows are monitored continuously, ensuring resilience and service availability during peak periods.

This approach optimizes authorization rates and enhances payment channel performance while maintaining full traceability for finance and compliance teams.

Cost Optimization and Rule Management

Orchestration includes a rules engine capable of defining priorities based on transaction cost, settlement time, and acceptance reliability. Low-value transactions can be routed through cost-effective solutions, while higher amounts follow more guaranteed paths.

A service provider implemented an orchestration platform to manage over ten payment service providers. The example showed a 20% reduction in transaction costs and a 10% improvement in authorization rates, thanks to continuous rule refinement and centralized performance data.

Rules can be updated in real time without interrupting production, ensuring rapid adaptation to market changes and competitor offerings.

Real-Time Reporting and Unified Back Office

Orchestration consolidates operations into a single back office, providing real-time dashboards and reports. Finance teams access aggregated KPIs (volume, performance, costs) and can segment by channel, country, or card type. ERP-compatible exports.

Data exports are compatible with ERPs and analytics tools, facilitating automatic reconciliation and financial closing. Configurable alerts immediately notify of anomalies or payment incidents.

This unification reduces manual workload associated with managing multiple interfaces, decreases error risks, and strengthens governance of payment processes across the enterprise.

Security and Biometrics: Building Trust

Biometric technologies and tokenization secure payments without compromising journey fluidity. They meet rising demands for trust and compliance.

Frictionless Biometric Authentication

Using fingerprint, facial, or voice recognition allows authentication in milliseconds. These methods eliminate code entry and offer a more natural UX while protecting digital identities.

Payment terminals and mobile apps integrate these biometric sensors natively or via secure libraries. Biometric data never leaves the device, ensuring confidentiality and compliance with international biometric standards.

Multi-factor authentication can be orchestrated to trigger only in cases of suspected fraud or high-risk transactions, ensuring a balanced approach between security and speed.

Tokenization and Sensitive Data Protection

Tokenization replaces card data with unique identifiers stored in secure vaults. Subsequent transactions use these tokens, limiting exposure of sensitive data to internal business systems.

This segmentation significantly reduces the attack surface and simplifies PCI DSS compliance. Tokens are context-configurable—one per terminal or channel—enabling precise payment origin tracing.

In case of compromise, tokens can be revoked or regenerated without affecting the cardholders’ actual cards, ensuring rapid, secure service continuity.

E-Commerce Cybersecurity and Regulatory Compliance

The proliferation of entry points exposes platforms to targeted attacks. Prevention solutions rely on behavioral analysis, real-time anomaly detection, and strict separation of payment environments.

Hybrid architectures combining containers and serverless functions allow sensitive components to be isolated and patches to be deployed quickly without disrupting the entire site. Centralized, encrypted logs ensure full operational traceability.

Compliance with PSD2, PCI DSS, and local regulations requires rigorous access governance and regular audits. Companies rely on proven open source frameworks and DevSecOps practices to integrate security by design.

Leverage Payment Innovation to Boost Your Competitiveness

AI, embedded finance, and orchestration technologies are reshaping customer journeys and optimizing payment operations. By combining personalization, native integration, and centralized control, companies gain agility, security, and performance. These drivers create a sustainable competitive advantage and pave the way for future growth.

To define the strategy best suited to your context and deploy these solutions without vendor lock-in, Edana’s experts are at your service. They support your project from design to execution, favoring open source, modular architectures, and cybersecurity best practices.

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By Benjamin

Digital expert

PUBLISHED BY

Benjamin Massa

Benjamin is an senior strategy consultant with 360° skills and a strong mastery of the digital markets across various industries. He advises our clients on strategic and operational matters and elaborates powerful tailor made solutions allowing enterprises and organizations to achieve their goals. Building the digital leaders of tomorrow is his day-to-day job.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about Commerce and Payments

How does AI improve the conversion rate in a checkout process?

AI algorithms analyze behavioral data in real time to automatically adjust recommendations and offers. They personalize checkout pages, optimize the sequence of steps, and reduce cart abandonment. Integrated via microservices or open APIs, these scalable systems rely on rigorous data governance to ensure performance and compliance.

What prerequisites are needed to integrate embedded finance into a B2B environment?

B2B embedded finance requires a modular architecture connected to ERP/CRM systems, banking APIs compliant with PSD2 and GDPR standards, and a strong authentication system. Workflows must automate purchase approvals, invoice generation, and instant or deferred credit issuance. The flexibility and security of microservices are key to adapting to specific business processes.

How do you measure the effectiveness of a multichannel payment orchestration?

Orchestration is measured using key metrics: authorization rate, failure rate, average cost per transaction, settlement time, and channel distribution. Centralized dashboards allow you to monitor these KPIs in real time and adjust business rules to optimize costs and resilience. Automated reconciliation ensures the reliability of financial data.

What are the main security risks related to tokenization and biometrics?

Risks include the compromise of token vaults, targeted attacks on biometric sensors, or interception of unencrypted streams. To address these, you can deploy contextual tokenization, store tokens offline, and use conditional-trigger multi-factor authentication. Strict environment segmentation and regular audits enhance confidentiality and PCI DSS compliance.

How can you avoid vendor lock-in when implementing a payment solution?

To avoid vendor lock-in, favor open-source solutions and a microservices architecture. Use standardized APIs to connect your payment modules so you can switch providers without disrupting the ecosystem. Document interfaces, maintain an abstraction layer, and plan continuous integration tests to ensure your technological independence.

What common mistakes occur when deploying smart payment terminals?

Common mistakes include lack of edge environment testing, deployments without in-store UX adaptation, and poor governance of software updates. Neglecting terminal integration with the centralized back office can lead to stock or pricing inconsistencies. An iterative, POC-driven approach helps mitigate these risks.

Which KPIs should you track to evaluate live commerce performance?

For live commerce, monitor the live conversion rate, average cart value, viewer engagement duration, and bounce rate. Analyze interactions (votes, comments, shares) to measure engagement and identify brand ambassadors. Real-time data feeds dashboards to optimize content and ROI for future sessions.

How do you manage data governance in an AI commerce project?

Establish a documented data pipeline, define clear responsibilities (data owners, data stewards), and enforce privacy policies in compliance with GDPR. Anonymize or pseudonymize sensitive data and maintain tracking through centralized logs. Periodic reviews and audits ensure quality, traceability, and security throughout the project lifecycle.

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