South African companies are still slow to use AI agents in banking and business, according to leaders at identity verification firm Sumsub. They spoke at a roundtable lunch about how these tools are changing banking, payments and business work, IOL reported.
Sumsub data shared in the report shows that sophisticated identity fraud rose by 180% from one year to the next. The firm said criminals are moving away from simple scams towards advanced attacks that use AI.
“Major enterprise adoption of true AI agents in South Africa is still quite low compared to global markets,” said Jarryd Jensen, Sumsub’s Regional Director for Southern Africa. “However, full agentic adoption is still in its early stages.”
Jensen said South Africa has an advanced market with digital banking and instant payment systems. He said local consumers are already very comfortable with signing up for services online.
Hannes Bezuidenhout, Sumsub’s VP of Sales for Africa, said some banks, such as Discovery Bank, are pushing into the use of AI agents. He said South Africa as a whole still lags behind leading countries such as China.
Agentic AI means trusting an AI system to make important decisions for a person. This goes beyond writing an email or answering a simple question. It can include managing investments, running business tasks with many steps or booking a full trip.
The discussion was led by Mick Amelishko, AI Advocate at Sumsub. He said the biggest change is that AI now has the power to act on its own.
“Last year, AI was just an assistant. It helped check writing or offered basic suggestions,” Amelishko said. “Now, AI can access the external world, read the live internet, interact with other digital products, make independent purchases, register on websites, or interact directly with bank accounts if granted permission.”
Amelishko said society has long worked on the idea that every transaction was carried out by a person. He said that human part is slowly being replaced.
A main question raised at the event was who is to blame when an AI agent makes a mistake. It could be the person who gave the instruction or the machine that carried it out.
Most people at the event agreed that AI itself cannot be blamed in law for illegal acts. They said responsibility must always lead back to a human operator or the person in charge of the system. The speakers also said new kinds of financial fraud are growing fast, and rules often fall behind new technology.
Sumsub’s figures show the global identity fraud rate dropped slightly to 2.2% in 2025. This was down from 2.6% in 2024, even as the more advanced types of fraud increased sharply.
Source: this article is based on reporting by IOL Technology. Image: IOL Technology. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Technology desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Werner Jacobs covers technology for Tzaneen Voice. Werner reports on mobile networks, data prices, internet access, smartphones, apps, AI, cybersecurity and South African tech companies. Each story explains what a new product, price change or policy means for ordinary users in South Africa.