Artificial intelligence is entering a new era, redefining how consumers shop, make payments and interact with technology. Against this backdrop, and under the central theme “building tomorrow together”, the Athens Mastercard Innovation Forum 2026 focused on the future of transactions, highlighting the changes driven by artificial intelligence and new forms of commerce, as well as the growth prospects opening up for Greece and the wider region.
Connie Cheng, Mastercard’s Vice President of Innovation, outlined the new opportunities this development is creating for businesses in an interview with Euro2day. AI agents, she explained, are taking an active role in decision-making, as they can assess options, suggest solutions and help people take action. Trust is crucial to the adoption of these technologies, she stressed, with security and transparency at the heart of the matter.
This year’s Mastercard Innovation Forum was held under the central theme “building tomorrow together”. What is the main message you would like business leaders to take away from your keynote?
We are living through a period of significant change. The internet gave us access to information, mobile technology changed the way we communicate, and today artificial intelligence is changing how we make decisions. We are entering a new era in which artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly integrated into our daily lives, helping people and businesses make better-informed decisions.
However, no business or industry can shape this future alone. Collaboration is essential if we are to harness the potential of new technologies and create real value for businesses, consumers and society.
That is also my main message to the business community: it is not enough to consider what artificial intelligence can offer. The question is what we can achieve together by building a future based on trust, creating opportunities for everyone and keeping people at the centre.
How can businesses use data and artificial intelligence to make better decisions and create meaningful value?
I believe one of the biggest opportunities offered by artificial intelligence lies not simply in automation, but in its potential to help businesses make better decisions.
Companies today have access to vast amounts of data. The challenge is to identify which information has real value and how to use it. What makes this moment particularly significant is that we are at a turning point in the development of artificial intelligence agents (AI agents). For years, technology has helped people access information. Increasingly, artificial intelligence can now help assess options, make recommendations and support action. In a sense, we are moving from an age of information abundance to an age of intelligence.
At the same time, artificial intelligence is moving ever closer to the centres of decision-making, whether through a company’s internal systems or the experiences it offers its customers. This means businesses can respond more quickly, anticipate changing needs and make better-informed decisions.
At Mastercard, we recognise the value of turning data into actionable insights. Ultimately, the question is not how much data you have, but what you can do with it.
If you could give business leaders and entrepreneurs one piece of advice on how to prepare for the future, what would it be?
My advice would be to build their innovation strategy on a solid foundation of trust from the outset. We are entering a world in which artificial intelligence agents (AI agents) will do more than help people find information. They will increasingly make decisions, carry out tasks and even interact with other artificial intelligence agents on behalf of people and businesses.
This raises some important questions. How can we know which artificial intelligence agents we can trust? And how do we ensure that the artificial intelligence systems we use operate responsibly?
The organisations that succeed will be those that combine innovation with security, transparency and accountability. Technology can open up new possibilities, but trust will determine whether new solutions are accepted and put to practical use.