Ms. Inutu Lukonga is a special assistant to the Director in the Monetary and Capital Markets Department at the IMF. She has 42 years operational experience as a Central Banker, Macro-economist, and Financial Sector Expert. She joined the IMF in 1993 after her tenure as Deputy Director of Research at the Central Bank of Zambia. At the IMF, she has worked as a Macro-Economist and as a Financial Sector Expert. She also worked at the Financial Services Authority in the UK as a regulator for banks and securities firms. Her research studies cover a broad range of areas, including Debt Restructuring, International Trade Policy, Financial Stability, Banking Supervision, Islamic Finance, Fintech, and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).

Ms. Lukonga holds a BA Degree in Economics from the University of Zambia, a Master of Arts degree in International Economics from University of Sussex in the UK and was a PHD candidate in Development Economics also at the University of Sussex.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a global financial institution, whose mandate is to promote global monetary cooperation, financial stability, international trade, high employment and sustainable economic growth, as well as reduce poverty around the world.

Generative AI and Payments: Balancing Innovation with Stability

Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) represents a new inflection point in the evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI). With capabilities to transform customer service, automate repetitive processes, power real time fraud detection, and use data to provide customer centric products, Gen AI’s potential to improve productivity, efficiency and risk management is immense. But alongside the opportunities, there are also risks such as AI enabled fraud that is difficult to identify, deep fakes that can lead to authentication failures or expanded cyber threat attack surfaces that can undermine integrity, trust and resilience of the broader financial ecosystem. Disruptions can also propagate quickly across borders and magnify systemic risks given that payment systems are deeply interconnected across borders. So as financial institutions embed Gen AI into core payment infrastructures, regulators face the challenge of how to encourage innovation while maintaining financial stability and trust in payment systems. The presentation will explore Gen AI’s applications across the payment value chain, the risks it introduces, and how these risks propagate—highlighting the need to harness its benefits without compromising financial stability.

 

Panel Discussion: Regulation and Supervision of Digital Currencies

This panel discussion explores the evolving landscape of digital currencies and the critical role of regulation and supervision in ensuring financial stability and consumer protection. The panelists will examine questions around compliance, innovation, and international cooperation. Attendees will gain insight into emerging regulatory frameworks and their implications for the future of digital finance.