The warning from EBANX places artificial intelligence in a broader perspective: the technology could not only change how payments companies operate, but also who will be capable of competing in the market in the coming years.

The Next Threat May Not Look Like a Payments Company

Artificial intelligence could change where competition comes from in the payments market by lowering some of the barriers required to build digital products and operations. That is the assessment of João Del Valle, co-founder and CEO of EBANX.

The issue matters because the payments sector has traditionally brought together companies with infrastructure, technology, regulatory expertise and commercial relationships built over many years.

If some of these capabilities can be developed more quickly with AI, companies that are currently outside this ecosystem could begin seeing opportunities that were previously difficult to reach.

The Boundary Between Industries Could Become Less Clear

This does not mean that any company could suddenly build a payments operation.

The point is different: technology can reduce the effort required to develop certain digital layers of a business. That could allow companies with different business models to test products, automate processes and find new ways to reach consumers.

The strategic consequence is that the definition of a competitor could become less predictable.

Competition Could Begin Before a Company Enters the Sector

For an established company, tracking only direct competitors may no longer be enough.

A digital commerce, software or infrastructure company could develop capabilities that, combined with AI, create a competing offering in a specific part of the payments value chain.

This scenario remains a possibility rather than an established transformation. But that possibility is precisely what makes João Del Valle’s warning relevant for industry leaders.

AI Could Lower Technological Barriers for New Players

Artificial intelligence can accelerate software development, process automation and product experimentation. For the payments market, that means part of the advantage based solely on the ability to build technology could become less protected.

Artificial intelligence expanding competition in the payments market

AI could lower technological barriers and increase the number of companies capable of experimenting with new digital business models.

Technology Is No Longer the Only Barrier

Building a competitive company still requires capital, infrastructure, security, compliance and market knowledge.

The difference is that AI can accelerate some stages of that process. A smaller team may be able to build and test software at a speed that previously required larger organizational structures.

This does not eliminate the sector’s barriers, but it could change their composition.

Value Could Shift Toward Hard-to-Copy Assets

As certain technological capabilities become more accessible, assets such as customer relationships, distribution, geographic presence, regulatory knowledge and partnerships could gain strategic importance.

For EBANX, this issue is particularly relevant because the company connects global businesses with local payment methods in growth markets.

Technology infrastructure remains important, but it is not the only component that supports a competitive position.

EBANX’s Challenge Is Also Internal

The discussion about AI at EBANX is not only about the arrival of new competitors. The technology is also being treated as a way to transform the organization itself and how its teams work.

An AI agent is a system capable of carrying out tasks through a sequence of steps and using tools to achieve a specific objective. In a corporate environment, this allows AI to move beyond simply answering questions and begin participating in business processes.

Corporate Knowledge Gains New Value

When AI systems can access internal information, documents and data from different areas, the knowledge accumulated by an organization can be used more broadly.

This transformation connects to a broader movement previously analyzed by Notícia Tech, including how corporate memory with AI can turn internal knowledge into a competitive advantage.

For payments companies, this knowledge can involve operations, local markets, customers, risks, processes and specific rules.

Leadership Also Needs to Keep Up With the Change

Del Valle’s assessment suggests that understanding AI cannot remain limited to technical teams.

Executives need to understand how the technology can change processes, products and organizational structures. Otherwise, companies risk continuing to manage their businesses based on assumptions built for a different technological reality.

In this context, AI stops being merely a productivity tool and becomes part of the broader discussion about business strategy.

What Changes for Payments Companies

The main change is strategic: payments companies need to expand their competitive radar. AI could mean that the next threat comes from organizations that are not currently classified as direct competitors.

A traditional company typically tracks banks, fintechs, acquirers, payment processors and other platforms. That group could become insufficient if companies from other industries begin developing similar capabilities.

Speed Becomes a Competitive Asset

When different companies can use AI to develop products and automate processes, the ability to experiment quickly could become increasingly important.

A company that can test a hypothesis, launch a solution, analyze the results and adjust the product in shorter cycles can learn faster than its competitors.

This transformation is connected to a broader movement previously analyzed by Notícia Tech in its coverage of companies beginning to replace traditional software with AI agents.

Competitive Advantage Could Shift

If technology becomes more accessible, owning sophisticated software is no longer sufficient protection by itself.

Advantage could shift toward a combination of technology, trust, distribution, local knowledge, data, commercial relationships and the ability to operate within each market’s rules.

For the payments sector, this combination is particularly important because competition is not only about the digital interface. It also involves the infrastructure and trust required to move money.

AI Could Change the Competitive Landscape

The assessment from EBANX points to a possibility worth watching: the next company capable of competing for a significant share of the payments market may not start out as a fintech.

Artificial intelligence could lower some technological barriers and allow organizations from other industries to experiment with business models that previously required specialized structures.

Executives analyzing the new competitive dynamics created by AI

The advance of AI could force established companies to broaden their monitoring of potential competitors.

This Does Not Eliminate Established Companies

It is important to distinguish between a possibility and a confirmed fact.

AI does not mean that traditional platforms will automatically be replaced. Established companies still have infrastructure, customers, regulatory knowledge, commercial relationships and a presence in markets that new entrants need to establish.

These assets can continue to act as competitive barriers even when the technology required to build new products becomes more accessible.

The Strategic Radar Needs to Expand

The change lies in the question executives need to ask.

Instead of looking only at who already sells similar products, companies will need to identify which organizations are acquiring capabilities that could eventually put them in the same market.

That analysis could include technology, digital commerce, infrastructure and other companies developing products increasingly supported by AI.

The Next Battle Could Begin Before the Competitor Appears

The main signal from João Del Valle is that artificial intelligence could change not only corporate productivity, but the very structure of competition.

Payments market connected to technology companies and artificial intelligence

The advance of AI could bring companies from different industries closer together and make competitive boundaries less predictable.

The Industry Needs to Track Capabilities, Not Just Companies

This change requires a broader approach to competitive intelligence.

Tomorrow’s relevant competitor could be a company that does not currently offer payment services but is building enough technology, distribution or customer relationships to enter the market.

That distinction matters: tracking companies shows who competes today. Tracking capabilities helps identify who could compete tomorrow.

Advantage Will Come From the Combination

AI can make certain tools more accessible, but it does not eliminate the need for trust, scale, security and market knowledge.

For companies such as EBANX, the challenge will be to turn AI into greater speed and efficiency without allowing the reduction of technological barriers to also reduce their own differentiation.

That is where the warning takes on strategic importance. AI could make the payments market more efficient, but it could also make it more competitive. And when technological boundaries between industries begin to disappear, the most important question is no longer who the current competitors are, but who is building the capabilities to become a competitor.