Last month, Raidiam and ID Partners hosted an executive breakfast panel in Sydney bringing together C-level leaders and innovators to address one of the most pressing challenges facing financial services: how to safely harness the transformative power of agentic AI.
Our expert panel featured:
- Victor Dominello – Former NSW Minister and one of Australia’s Top 100 Innovators
- Dima Postnikov – Vice Chairman, OpenID Foundation and Head of Identity Strategy & Architecture, ConnectID
- Ralph Bragg – Co-Founder and CTO, Raidiam
- Moderator: Jamie Leach, Open Data Strategist, Raidiam
Together, these thought leaders explored why legacy models of impersonation are no longer sufficient – and why delegation, agent-level identity (“KYA”), and open digital public infrastructure are the cornerstones for building trust, accountability, and compliance in a new age of autonomous AI.
Trust: The Central Tenet for Agentic AI
Trust is the foundation of innovation in financial services – and it becomes even more critical as we enter the era of agentic AI.
With intelligent agents automating more decisions and customer interactions, organisations must ensure that every action – whether human or autonomous – is transparent, accountable, and trusted. Building and maintaining trust is not just an outcome, but a prerequisite for responsibly deploying agentic AI and unlocking its transformative potential in banking, payments, and beyond.
Watch the full panel discussion below to learn more about how trust, secure delegation, and agentic AI are shaping the future of the financial services industry.
Why Is Agentic AI Such a Game-Changer for Finance?
Agentic AI isn’t just more automation – it’s a quantum leap. Gartner forecasts that by 2028, autonomous agents will drive 20% of digital storefront interactions and make 15% of daily work decisions in financial services, reshaping everything from risk management to customer engagement.
Yet most digital platforms today were designed for human users, not autonomous agents. The earliest versions of agentic innovation in banking and fintech leaned heavily on impersonation, with AI mimicking users to navigate systems – often without formal identity or clearly defined authority. As MIT cautions:
The rapid deployment of autonomous AI agents creates urgent challenges around authorisation, accountability, and access control in digital spaces.
This opacity increases the likelihood of misused data, regulatory breaches, and unintended financial exposures.
From Impersonation to Delegation: The Secure Path Forward
Delegation means giving each agent only the authority it needs, for a tightly defined purpose. Unlike impersonation – which blurs the lines and erodes auditability – delegation:
- Grants explicit, granular permissions
- Provides every agent with a unique, auditable identity
- Creates transparent logs, supporting regulatory compliance
- Enables implementation of KYA (“Know Your Agent”) policies
Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) provides the foundation for safely scaling these models across the sector. According to the World Economic Forum:
DPI provides the shared digital rails upon which innovation can occur, enabling both public and private actors to build interoperable solutions that benefit society at large.
Governments establish the root of trust and policy guardrails, while the private sector builds robust, cross-sector solutions. DPI is not a single platform – it is an ecosystem of interoperable, standards-based systems that enable innovation with security and trust.
Key Takeaways for Financial Institutions
- Trust is the cornerstone of successful AI adoption: All innovation – especially with agentic AI – depends on transparent, secure and accountable systems that build stakeholder and customer confidence.
Impersonation is a security anti-pattern: It increases risk and erodes auditability.
- Delegation is essential for safe, transparent AI: Fine-grained, explicit controls support trust, audit, and compliance.
- Agent identity (“KYA”) is critical: Knowing who is acting – and why – underpins safe digital transformation.
- Digital Public Infrastructure and open standards are foundational: Collaboration enables secure, scalable, and innovative financial services.
As the use of agentic AI accelerates across financial services, it’s vital that organisations move beyond outdated models of impersonation toward secure, transparent, and accountable delegation. By embracing agent-level identity and leveraging digital public infrastructure, the industry can unlock the benefits of autonomous innovation – while maintaining the trust, compliance, and risk controls essential for long-term success.
Ready to take the next step in secure AI-powered transformation?
Contact us today to discuss how we can help your organisation architect open, interoperable, and future-proof digital trust solutions.
