17/09/2026

BIZ & FINANCE THURSDAY | SEPT 17, 2026

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AI adoption: Hype versus reality A RTIFICIAL Intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic con cept reserved for technol ogy giants and research reputational damage. In heavily regulated industries such as finance, healthcare, legal, and government sectors, improper use of public AI could potentially violate data protection laws and corporate governance replacing the entire infrastructure. 0 AI-enabled digital shift The next option would

business priority. Businesses need to understand how their payment setup performs under pressure, how promptly confirmation reaches the customer and how clearly delayed or unsuccessful transactions are communicated. They should assess payment capability not only by the number of methods available, but by how reliably the overall journey supports customers and operations during the moments that matter most. The implications extend beyond a single campaign. Businesses that prepare for peak demand are not only protecting immediate sales. They are also protecting operational efficiency, customer trust and the possibility of repeat purchases after the promotion ends. Malaysia’s next phase of digital commerce will increasingly be defined by how effectively businesses convert concentrated demand into completed transactions. Payment performance is no longer a background function. It is becoming part of campaign readiness, customer experience and long-term competitiveness. 0 Identify the right AI strategy & use cases Businesses should determine where AI can generate measurable value such as automation, analytics, customer service, or operational optimisation. From there, organisations can select the most suitable AI adoption approach, whether through private AI, third party integration, or AI-enabled systems. 0 Implement, govern & enable adoption AI implementation should begin with pilot projects and proof-of concept initiatives to validate outcomes and manage risks. Organisations must also establish proper governance, cyber security, privacy, and compliance controls while ensuring employees are trained to use AI responsibly and effectively. The path forward for AI adoption Ultimately, organisations must have strategic reasons for adopting AI. AI adoption should never be driven purely by hype, publicity, or fear of missing out. Instead, the decision must be backed by rationalised business needs, measurable objectives, operational priorities, and long-term value creation. While AI may be fast and powerful, human judgement, ethics and wisdom remain irreplaceable. As organisations continue their AI journey, the real competitive advantage will not come from replacing humans with AI, but from empowering humans with AI responsibly, strategically, and intelligently. This article is contributed by BDO Malaysia, technology advisory executive director Raymond Lim ( pix ).

provided directly by users during interactions. This ability to learn, adapt, and make decisions based on context is commonly associated with what is now referred to as Agentic AI. Most users today are highly impressed by their interactions with public AI platforms. The ability to draft reports, summarise documents, analyse trends, and generate ideas instantly has created the perception that AI is capable of solving nearly every business challenge. This growing publicity has also convinced many organisations that AI implementation is no longer optional, but necessary in order to remain competitive. Balancing innovation with trust One of the most critical concerns surrounding the use of public AI for business purposes is privacy and confidentiality. Public AI platforms often process information through external cloud environments where organisations may not have full visibility or control over how data is stored, processed, or used. Employees may unknowingly upload confidential business information, customer records, financial data, intellectual property, or commercially sensitive documents into public AI systems. This introduces

Businesses naturally concentrate on advertising, inventory and fulfilment, but payment performance can receive less attention despite sitting at one of the most important points in the customer journey. Peak demand does not necessarily create weaknesses in the payment experience. It makes them visible at scale. A delay affecting a limited number of transactions during normal trading can become a material sales and operational issue when demand is concentrated within a few hours. Payment systems must therefore do more than process transactions successfully under ordinary conditions. They must continue to perform consistently as volumes rise, while giving businesses sufficient visibility to understand transaction outcomes and respond effectively when exceptions occur. Peak readiness should therefore be viewed as both a technology and be implementing entirely new systems that are already scoped and designed with embedded AI capabilities. This is often part of a larger digital transformation strategy where AI becomes a core component of future business operations and decision making processes. AI as an enabler, not a replacement Despite all the excitement surrounding AI, one major misconception continues to dominate public opinion – the belief that AI can fully replace humans in all aspects of work. The reality is that AI, while highly capable, is not yet capable of replacing human intelligence, judgement, creativity, emotional understanding, ethical reasoning, and strategic thinking entirely. Therefore, AI should not be viewed primarily as a replacement for humans, but rather as a tool that augments human capability. Organisations that achieve the greatest value from AI are often those that combine human expertise with AI-driven efficiency. Strategic pathways to AI adoption For organisations planning to adopt AI, three key steps should be considered: 0 Define business objectives & readiness Organisations must first identify the business challenges and objectives that AI is intended to address. At the same time, they should assess their organisational readiness including digital maturity, data quality, infrastructure, governance, and workforce capability.

Customers increasingly plan purchases around these occasions, and businesses invest heavily in promotions, marketing and inventory to capture the resulting sales opportunities. Yet the real commercial test begins when traffic peaks and customers reach checkout. A successful campaign can still lose momentum if payment confirmation is delayed, a transaction does not proceed, or customers are uncertain whether their order has been completed. These issues may be less visible under normal transaction volumes, but concentrated demand can quickly expose weaknesses across the payment journey. Peak sale periods are therefore becoming more than just major retail events that generate higher traffic and spending. They are increasingly real world tests of whether businesses have the systems, capacity and payment infrastructure needed to handle sudden surges in demand, laboratories. Today, AI is now a cen tral topic in boardrooms, confer ences, social media platforms, and daily business conversations. Organisations across industries are actively exploring how AI can trans form the way they operate, improve productivity, reduce costs, and enhance decision-making. However, the pace of adoption varies across organisations. Those with the right mix of skills, capital, data foundations, and infrastructure can scale AI faster, while others risk falling behind. For leaders, the implication is clear: AI investments must be intentional, secure, and aligned to priority business outcomes to generate meaningful returns. Understanding the drivers behind AI adoption The rise of AI has largely been driven by the public’s exposure to tools such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, DeepSeek, Microsoft Copilot and others. These platforms have demonstrated how AI can generate content, analyse information, answer questions, write code, and even assist with complex problem-solving within seconds. Such capabilities have impressed businesses and individuals alike, creating excitement around the possibilities of AI adoption. At its core, AI relies heavily on data. The intelligence of AI systems comes from their ability to process vast amounts of information, identify patterns, learn from interactions, and continuously improve over time. Common sources of data include publicly available internet information, enterprise databases, operational records, and information

requirements. Organisations must therefore establish clear AI governance policies and carefully evaluate how AI tools are being used internally. Strategic options for AI adoption In general, organisations have three strategic options when considering AI adoption: 0 Private AI environment Subscribing to a private AI environment offers a more controlled alternative to public platforms. Unlike public AI, private AI solutions provide dedicated environments with stronger data governance, better security controls, and greater confidentiality. This allows organisations to leverage AI capabilities while maintaining control over sensitive business information.

0 AI integration into existing systems Integrating AI tools as third-party plug-ins into existing internal systems enables organisations to enhance current

b u s i n e s s applications such as ERP, C R M , c u s t ome r s e r v i c e , analytics, and w o r k f l o w systems with AI d r i v e n functionalities. This enables incremental adoption without

significant organisational risks including data l e a k a g e ,

regulatory non compliance, exposure of confidential information, cyber security concerns, and

Peak sale periods stress testing Malaysia’s payment systems MONTHLY double-digit campaigns have become fixed points in Malaysia’s e-commerce calendar, while year-end mega sale periods such as 11.11 and 12.12 continue to generate some of the strongest customer demand. convert strong customer interest into completed sales, and maintain the fast, reliable and seamless payment experience that customers have come to expect. minimal effort. As those behaviours become routine, however, payment availability alone is becoming less distinctive. Why peak demand Is raising the stakes Peak campaigns compress a significant volume of customer activity into a short period, creating conditions that differ substantially from day-to-day commerce.

Customers now judge the experience by how smoothly the transaction is completed. They expect the payment journey to be intuitive, confirmation to arrive promptly and transaction status to be clear. This means the challenge has moved from enabling a payment to executing it consistently. Expanding payment choice may bring more customers to checkout, but dependable performance is what turns purchase intent into completed sales. That difference becomes most visible during major shopping campaigns. Customers who have waited for promotional pricing often have little patience once they reach the final stage of the purchase journey. A delayed confirmation, uncertain payment status, or unsuccessful transaction can interrupt the sale even when purchase intent is strong. For merchants, the same uncertainty can also lead to abandoned carts, duplicate payment enquiries, refund checks, and greater pressure on customer service teams.

Malaysia’s digital payment growth makes this increasingly important. Bank Negara Malaysia reported that in 2025, e-payment transactions grew 25% to 18.4 billion, while DuitNow QR transaction volume doubled to three billion. Malaysians are already paying digitally at scale through online banking, cards, QR payments and e-wallets. The next challenge is no longer simply whether customers will pay digitally, but whether businesses can deliver a fast, reliable and trusted experience when demand is at its highest. From payment adoption to payment experience For much of the past decade, businesses focused on expanding payment acceptance. The priority was to support more payment methods, encourage digital adoption and reduce reliance on cash. Those investments helped shape today’s digital economy, where customers expect to move between cards, QR payments, e wallets and online banking with

This article is contributed by Fiuu CEO Eng Sheng Guan.