How AI is Powering Payments, with Greg Ulrich of Mastercard

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.

Timestamps
00:00 – Intro
00:28 – Greg Ulrich Background
02:49 – Distinction between AI and generative AI
05:22 – AI opportunities at Mastercard
06:24 – Handling fraud, making the commerce ecosystem smarter and more personal
10:02 – Digital Assistant to allow customer integration
10:59 – Safe guarding customer data
12:50 – Criteria for resource allocation and early stage partnerships
15:11 – How AI decisions are made
18:37 – Measuring ROI and KPIs
21:03 – Staying up-to-date on AI technology
23:35 – AI adoption and concerns
25:51 – AI forecast in the coming year

Resources
Find “In The Vault” on a16z.com: https://a16z.com/podcasts/in-the-vault/
Find more about a16z’s vision for the future of fintech: https://a16z.com/banking-on-ai/
Find Marc Andrusko on X: https://x.com/mandrusko1
Find Greg Ulrich on LinkedIn:   / gregu  
Find a16z on X: https://x.com/a16z
Find a16z on LinkedIn:   / a16z