In The Vault: How AI is Powering Payments with Greg Ulrich
Feb 4, 2025
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Greg Ulrich, Chief AI and Data Officer at MasterCard, leads the conversation on navigating the complexities of AI in financial services. He discusses MasterCard's innovative 'hub and spoke' model for AI deployment, balancing centralized control with decentralized creativity. Ulrich delves into using generative AI for enhanced fraud detection and customer personalization while evaluating ROI for AI initiatives. With transparency and trust at the forefront, the conversation uncovers the future opportunities AI presents in payments and commerce.
Mastercard employs a 'hub and spoke' model for AI deployment, balancing centralized leadership with decentralized innovation across its business units.
The integration of generative AI in fraud detection presents significant opportunities, though its adoption necessitates careful evaluation of use cases and risks.
Deep dives
Greg's Journey and Role at MasterCard
Greg Ulrich shares his unique career trajectory, beginning in the nonprofit sector where he focused on measuring the effectiveness of various interventions related to public health issues like clean water and malaria. He transitioned to Applied Predictive Technologies, honing his skills in data analytics and the differentiation between causality and correlation, which later proved valuable at MasterCard. His experience culminated in his recent appointment as Chief AI and Data Officer, where he emphasizes the immense potential and responsibilities that come with leveraging AI technologies in today's landscape. Greg identifies the current era as one of significant excitement and transformative possibilities in AI, reiterating the importance of defining the path forward in this dynamic field.
MasterCard's Long-standing Use of AI
MasterCard has a rich history of integrating artificial intelligence into its operations, particularly in areas like fraud detection and transaction monitoring, which are critical for maintaining a secure payment ecosystem. The introduction of generative AI marked a new wave of opportunities for the organization, allowing for deeper analyses of unstructured data and enhancing existing services. For use cases reliant on structured data, traditional AI methods remain more practical; however, Greg highlights how generative AI can complement these practices by innovating aspects like fraud management. This technology is viewed as a feature that can enhance existing products rather than a standalone solution, emphasizing a use-case-oriented approach in AI adoption.
Strategic AI Implementation at MasterCard
MasterCard's deployment of AI is organized into four main categories: safer, smarter, more personal, and stronger, which encompasses improving fraud detection, transaction efficiency, customer personalization, and internal operations. For instance, the company launched a product called decision intelligence that leverages generative AI for real-time fraud assessment by scoring transactions based on various behavioral data. Additionally, initiatives like Shopping Muse facilitate an interactive shopping experience, allowing consumers to receive personalized recommendations through a chatbot. This strategic definition helps ensure that the AI technologies adopted align with the company's goals and provide value to customers while improving operational efficiency.
Fostering Trust and Collaboration in AI Development
In a landscape characterized by fast-paced AI advancements, MasterCard prioritizes trust and the responsible use of data, which are essential to maintaining its status as a reliable partner among merchants and financial institutions. As organizations navigate the adoption of AI, there is a prevalent concern regarding accuracy and the potential risks associated with deploying AI technologies, particularly for consumer-facing solutions. MasterCard seeks to cultivate collaborative relationships with early-stage companies through its StartPath program while maintaining a focus on governance and security priorities. Greg emphasizes the necessity of clear evaluation metrics and ongoing assessments to ensure that AI initiatives deliver expected returns on investment while fostering a safe and effective environment.
How does a company as massive as Mastercard decide where to deploy AI? Instead of centralizing every AI initiative, Mastercard operates under a “hub and spoke” model — balancing centralized AI leadership with decentralized innovation across business units.
In this episode, a16z Partner Marc Andrusko chats with Mastercard’s Chief AI and Data Officer Greg Ulrich about Mastercard’s long history of using AI, the opportunities (and potential risks) associated with integrating generative AI into fraud detection, determining what tech to employ based on use cases, and the best advice he’s ever gotten.
“In the Vault” is a podcast series by the a16z Fintech team, where we sit down with the most influential figures in financial services to explore key trends impacting the industry and the innovations that will shape our future.
