FIS research reveals consumer concerns over AI payments
New research from FIS and Kantar reveals that 57% of US adults are comfortable with AI flagging or freezing suspicious transactions, while half want to approve every payment made by an AI assistant.
Consumers are more comfortable allowing artificial intelligence to protect their money than independently manage their spending, according to new research from financial technology provider FIS.
The 2026 FIS Consumer Pulse Survey, conducted in partnership with research firm Kantar, found that 57% of US adults would be comfortable with an AI assistant flagging or freezing a suspicious transaction without prior approval. However, 50% want to approve every transaction an AI assistant makes.
The findings highlight the importance of customer control and accountability as banks and payments providers introduce increasingly autonomous AI capabilities.
When it comes to financial activity, consumers are most comfortable with AI handling security-related tasks, such as identifying suspicious charges (57%) and paying recurring bills they have previously approved (55%).
Confidence falls when AI is given greater financial autonomy. Just 47% are comfortable with AI sending money to another person or business, while 43% would allow it to open a savings account and 40% would trust it to apply for a loan or credit card on their behalf.
Trust also depends on safeguards. Some 58% of respondents identified a refund guarantee for mistakes as a key requirement for trusting AI with their money, while 56% want access to a human who can review or override its decisions.
Among those not ready to hand over money management to AI, 70% said they want to remain in control of their finances.
The research also identifies a significant generational divide in attitudes towards autonomous financial technology. Some 61% of millennials and 58% of Gen Z respondents said they were ready to hand day-to-day money management to an AI assistant, compared with 33% of Gen X respondents and just 3% of adults aged 70 and above.
Alongside changing attitudes towards AI, the survey highlights growing concerns around financial fraud and impersonation scams.
More than a third (35%) of US adults said they had been targeted by an AI impersonation scam or knew someone who had, while 22% had experienced one personally. Among those targeted, 58% reported receiving fake-voice phone calls.
The 2026 FIS Consumer Pulse Survey was conducted in partnership with Kantar between 16 and 30 September 2026. The online survey included 2,000 US adults, with results based on self-reported, unweighted responses.