Preparing for the next phase of AI
Firms report strong technical readiness for digital ID, but inclusive provision lags. Regulatory clarity and guidance also emerge as the most commonly cited barrier to inclusive AI adoption.
Regulation and inclusion shape firms’ readiness for what comes next
As AI becomes more embedded in payments, firms are increasingly looking beyond current deployment to the capabilities and infrastructure they will need next. Digital identity is an important part of that picture, with most respondents reporting a high level of technical readiness to accept digital credentials.
Technical readiness, however, is only one part of the equation. The findings indicate that firms are less prepared when it comes to ensuring that digital identity works inclusively for vulnerable customers. This creates a potential gap between the ability to deploy new technology and the provision needed to make it accessible in practice.
Firms also point to external challenges. Regulatory clarity and guidance is the most commonly cited barrier to making AI-enabled journeys work effectively for vulnerable customers, although priorities differ between financial services and retail respondents.
This section explores both sides of future readiness: the barriers firms believe are holding back inclusive AI adoption, and whether their preparations for digital identity are keeping pace with the needs of vulnerable customers.
Regulatory clarity and guidance is the most commonly cited barrier to inclusive AI adoption, but the picture differs by sector. It is particularly prominent among financial services firms, while retail respondents place greater emphasis on technical integration.
Key finding
Regulatory clarity remains the leading barrier
Nearly half of respondents identify regulatory clarity and guidance as the biggest barrier to making AI-enabled journeys work for vulnerable customers. The finding is particularly pronounced among financial services firms, pointing to demand for clearer practical guidance as AI adoption develops.
of all 110 firms name regulatory clarity as the single biggest barrier
Firms report high levels of technical readiness for digital identity, but inclusive provision has further to go. While many are prepared to accept digital credentials, a smaller proportion combine that technical capability with specific provision for vulnerable customers.
Case study: Sumsub on how inclusive AI must know its limits
AI-powered verification is rapidly becoming the norm, helping businesses automate compliance and reduce costs. But full automation should not mean removing human judgment altogether, especially when we’re dealing with vulnerable audiences.
Twins are one unexpected example. Sharing a surname, birthdate, and remarkably similar facial features can make legitimate applicants look like duplicate accounts to automated systems. About 30 pairs of twins knock on Sumsub’s digital doors every day, a reminder that “edge cases” affect real people at meaningful scale.
Sumsub responded with Twin-friendly verification that recognises these patterns of uncertainty and escalates ambiguous cases rather than defaulting to rejection. Today, human review provides an important safeguard. In the future, increasingly capable AI agents should handle many such cases autonomously. The challenge is ensuring greater autonomy also means greater inclusivity, not simply more automation.
This reflects a broader effort to tackle bias and unfair rejection through innovation. In 2024, Sumsub launched its Greenflag initiative to address digital exclusion, affecting an estimated 643 million people worldwide. Through non-documentary verification and AI-powered improvements, Sumsub cut document-related rejections by up to 67% globally in the initiative’s first year.
The principle is simple: inclusive AI must know its limits and evolve to overcome them.