Almost a month ago, PayNearMe acquired the technology assets and hired the key employees of Marr Labs in a move described as one that will “help shape the future of payments.”

The next development in that future involving artificial intelligence and payments surfaced on Thursday when PayNearMe launched its AI Servicing and Collections Agent, a new solution built directly into PayXM to improve payment collection and account servicing.

The company explained the agent combines agentic AI with the platform’s data, tools and workflows to interpret customer intent, determine the appropriate next step and take action across inbound self-service and outbound engagement.

By handling routine servicing and proactively guiding customers toward resolution or payment, PayNearMe highlighted the AI Servicing and Collections Agent helps support teams scale while lowering the cost to serve.

PayNearMe introduced its AI-powered Intelligent Virtual Agent (IVA) last October as an alternative to traditional menu-based interactive voice response systems.

The company noted that the AI Servicing and Collections Agent builds on that foundation by expanding inbound self-service and delivering the proactive outbound capabilities outlined in PayNearMe’s agentic AI roadmap.

“Together, these capabilities give customers a direct path to resolve routine account and payment needs, whether they initiate a call or respond to outbound outreach,” PayNearMe said in a news release.

The agent introduces outbound capabilities that enable businesses to proactively reach customers and guide each interaction toward the desired outcome. With these capabilities, businesses can:

—Drive each interaction toward the right outcome: Connect proactive outreach to payment data, business rules and workflows so the agent can authenticate customers and take the appropriate next step. Depending on the interaction, the Agent can provide account information, accept or schedule a payment, capture promises to pay, manage opt-outs, send a smart link or connect a customer with support.

—Scale servicing without scaling staff: Run multiple high-volume campaigns simultaneously while reserving support staff for interactions that require human assistance.

—Offer greater channel flexibility: Give customers options across voice, text, web and live support so they can complete a payment or get assistance through the channel that works best for them. The agent can preserve context as customers move between channels, with this capability rolling out in phases.

“The real value of an AI agent comes from its ability to use payment context, business rules and workflows to move an interaction forward,” PayNearMe chief product officer John Minor said in the news release.

“Because the agent is embedded directly in PayXM, it can move beyond answering questions to taking the appropriate action and involving support staff when human judgment or assistance is needed,” Minor continued.

Pilot program results

As part of a pilot program, Indiana Finance Company used the AI Servicing and Collections Agent to conduct proactive payment outreach campaigns and support inbound customer interactions.

During one outbound campaign, PayNearMe recapped that the agent placed as many calls in one hour as approximately 28 support staff members would typically place during that same period.

The company highlighted 90% of targeted accounts received a voicemail or smart link, completed a live conversation or were transferred to support staff.

“The AI Agent gives us the reach of a much larger team and lets us adjust the pace of campaigns based on our needs,” Indiana Finance Company COO Carl Stamper said in the news release from PayNearMe. “It gives our customers a direct path to payment, while our staff can focus on situations where personal attention matters most.”

Applying Agentic AI across the entire payment experience

Integrating agents directly into PayXM is central to PayNearMe’s vision for the future of AI in payments.

Rather than acting as a bolt-on, PayNearMe explained AI becomes part of the payment experience itself.

This integrated approach can advance payment experience management (PEM), which is designed to help businesses continuously improve the payment experience across customers, support and operations.

The AI Servicing and Collections Agent can give customers easier paths to service, resolution and payment; enables support teams to focus on complex or high-value interactions; and reduces the workload for operations teams.

To further advance this vision, PayNearMe recently acquired Marr Labs’ technology assets and welcomed key members of its team. The new team members bring specialized expertise in building and operating sophisticated AI systems at scale in complex, regulated environments.

The AI Servicing and Collections Agent is available now to PayNearMe clients. It is the first in PayNearMe’s broader agentic AI roadmap, with additional purpose-built agents planned to address the complex challenges that drive up the total cost of payment acceptance.

To learn more about PayNearMe’s AI agents or request a demo, go to this website.