🚀 “A single prompt eliminated a 17-step workflow.”

💡 Let that sink in. 💡

That quote from Paul Razgaitis, Lead Engineer at Modern Treasury, wasn’t a bold claim. It happened live on stage.

Just one of the moments at Modern Treasury Transfer yesterday where AI stopped being theoretical and became deeply operational. I walked in expecting product announcements. What I found was something much more powerful: a room full of payments pros, AI builders and strategists, all aligned around how we’re about to work differently, faster, smarter.

The AI sessions? 🔥 Grounded. Transparent. Practical.

Ryan Jackson, who leads AI at Modern Treasury, shared how their new Agent + Workspace isn't just some flashy interface, it’s a tool-permissioned, role-aware, context-savvy teammate. With built-in guardrails, audit trails, and human-in-the-loop controls. 🎯

And the tone? It wasn’t hype. It was humble, grounded, and transparent. “This isn’t magic,” they made clear. “It’s hard work. And we’re building it together with our customers.” (true partnerships - and the customers on stage were real as well... basically, it's a journey ya'll. Let's get to it.)

Even the ledger panel (IMHO: the post-lunch “nap slot” panel) turned out to be 🔥. Real talk about the pain of change, the psychology of transformation, and the hurdles that come with scaling systems that touch real money. Thank you Jess Cheng, Elizabeth Dobbs, CPA, Isabelle Meyer Stapf and Bob Sneed for ruining my nap time.

A few takeaways I’m chewing on:
✨ Declarative > Imperative. Give the system your intent, not your steps.
🧠 Agents without context are hallucination machines.
🛠️ Building in public = learning in real time.
🕵️‍♂️ The best AI UX isn’t visible - it’s confident suggestions and binary trust.

Huge props to the whole Modern Treasury crew for showing, not just telling, what AI in fintech looks like when built by people who deeply understand the domain.

If you’re curious about what AI for fintech and payments teams can unlock - from sales to marketing to ops to finance - reach out. We’ve got some real-world examples at The GRIN Labs to share that might 🤯 your mind. And BTW... Marco Crolla is the real deal transformation pro you will want to spend time with. Worth a call. (plug)

Thank you: Dimitri Dadiomov, Matt Marcus, Sam A., Rachel P. 🔥 , Erin McCune, Ron Karpovich, Zach Abrams, Molly B. and Mark Gould for your transparency and wisdom.

👇 Footnote:
¹ Matthew Martin, CFA from Shopify dropped this gem during his fireside chat:
“We have a disdain for mediocrity. Once a year, we do an annoying shit sprint - 30 days to fix everything that bugs us.” Yes! Especially with AI now helping teams automate the stuff no one wants to touch.

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