Featuring insights from Kalebi Serafim – OKTO’s Chief Technology Officer & AI Strategist
In the global race to modernize digital payments, one thing is clear: artificial intelligence is no longer a feature. It is the foundation. At OKTO, this shift has been fully embraced by designing the platform as AI-native from the ground up. Intelligence is not an add-on or an enhancement. It is the core operating system driving every decision, every insight, and every transaction.
To understand what this transformation looks like in practice, we spoke with Kalebi Serafim, OKTO’s CTO & AI Strategist, about how AI-native infrastructure is shaping the next generation of payment operations, particularly in fast-moving markets like Brazil and across Latin America.
What Does “AI-Native” Really Mean?
While many companies use AI to automate tasks or add smart capabilities, AI-native represents a fundamentally different architectural philosophy. It means designing the entire operation around intelligence from the beginning.
AI-Native means that every piece of technology, from design and thinking to delivery and sustainability, must have AI as cornerstone”- explains Serafim.
Real-time data pipelines, predictive engines, closed feedback loops, and dynamic systems enable OKTO’s platform to anticipate conditions instead of reacting to them. The result is a more reliable, efficient and intelligent experience for merchants and end users.
Why AI-Native Matters Most in Latin America
There is a clear reason OKTO is investing heavily in AI across Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and other markets in the region. Latin America’s payments ecosystem is dynamic, highly competitive and extremely fast.
Pix operates in real time. Fraud patterns evolve by the day. Issuer behaviors shift quickly. Traditional systems, built on static rules or manual monitoring, cannot keep pace with this level of complexity.
“AI is no longer optional here – it is the baseline expectation,” says Serafim.
“For merchants, performance is everything, and AI helps us deliver exactly that.”
AI enables OKTO to offer smarter routing, real-time insights, sharper detection capabilities and hyper-local optimization that reflect the behavioral nuances of each market.
Inside OKTO’s AI-Native Stack
Several core elements distinguish OKTO’s AI-native architecture.
1. Real-Time Intelligence
Data flows continuously through the platform, allowing instant visibility into routing performance, issuer behavior, risk signals, and anomalies.
2. Autonomous Engines
The platform uses AI models to support decisioning in routing, risk scoring, reconciliation prediction, and monitoring – all of which adapt autonomously as conditions change.
3. Closed Feedback Loops
Every decision feeds the next. The system learns transaction by transaction, strengthening its predictive power and stability.
These components form an infrastructure that is dynamic, resilient and performance-centric, built for high-growth, high-speed environments.
Where AI Delivers Impact Today
Routing optimization is one of the most visible examples of OKTO’s AI-native approach.
“Traditional routing is static. Our routing is predictive,” says Serafim.
OKTO’s AI routing engine evaluates live factors such as issuer responsiveness, time-of-day patterns, merchant profiles and historical data to determine the best route for each transaction. The impact is immediate:
- Higher authorization rates
- Reduced latency
- Faster anomaly detection
- Real-time adaptation to market behavior
This translates directly into better performance for operators and a smoother experience for their users.
Local-First Intelligence: OKTO’s Regional Strength
OKTO’s AI strategy is anchored in the belief that payments are inherently local. User behavior in Brazil differs significantly from Argentina. Risk patterns in Mexico do not resemble those in Colombia.
AI allows OKTO to create localized intelligence layers that reflect each market’s unique characteristics, strengthening the platform’s ability to adapt and perform.
“Local-first intelligence is one of OKTO’s strongest differentiators versus global incumbents,” Serafim explains.
This regional precision enables operators to scale with confidence in complex, rapidly evolving environments.
Humans and AI: A Complementary Approach
Despite the power of automation, AI does not replace human insight. Instead, it expands what teams can achieve.
Engineers gain deeper observability.
Product teams access insights previously impossible to extract.
Operational teams move from reactive responses to predictive management.
“AI handles the volume. People provide the context,” says Serafim.
“This balance is fundamental to OKTO’s culture and to how we work.”
This philosophy is closely connected to the company’s internal operating system for alignment, innovation, and continuous improvement.
The Future of Payments: Predictive and Autonomous
Looking ahead, the industry is moving toward platforms that operate as self-optimizing financial engines.
AI-native PSPs will:
- Predict demand
- Prevent failures
- Adapt routing strategies per merchant
- Forecast settlements with precision
- Evolve in real time alongside market behavior
“In five years, merchants will not simply experience better performance; they will feel the PSP adapting uniquely to them,” Serafim predicts.
“That is the future OKTO is building.”
Final Thought: This Is a Transformation, Not a Feature
The shift to AI-native operations is not about adding technology. It is a strategic transformation that touches data, engineering, product development, culture, operations and customer experience.
Companies that embed intelligence into their core today will shape the next decade of financial infrastructure. At OKTO, that work is already underway and accelerating under the leadership of CTO and AI Strategist Kalebi Serafim.
