7.5 AI in the Payments Process: the Payments Agent, Discount Intelligence, Virtual Cards and Fraud Controls

Oracle Fusion Cloud Financials Payables and Expenses 2026 Implementation Professional Exam

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1 Chapter 1: Exam Overview, Enterprise Structures & Security

1.1 Exam Facts, Hands-On Format & How to Use This Guide 1.2 Enterprise and Financial Reporting Structures & the Data Security Model 1.3 Business Units and Reference Data Sets

2 Chapter 2: Master Data, Taxes & Cash Management Setup

2.1 Supplier Master Data: Profile, Addresses, Sites and Site Assignments 2.2 Supplier Controls: Registration, Income Tax Details, Site Holds and Third-Party Payments 2.3 Bank Account Master Data: Banks, Branches, Internal Accounts and Security 2.4 Transaction Tax Setup for Procure-to-Pay 2.5 Configuring Cash Management for Payables: Statements, Reconciliation Rules and Clearing

3 Chapter 3: Supplier Invoices — Options, Entry & Matching

3.1 Invoice Options and Common Options for Payables and Procurement 3.2 Supplier Invoice Processing: Invoice Types, Components and Distribution Sets 3.3 Matching Invoices to Purchase Orders, Receipts and Consumption Advice

4 Chapter 4: Supplier Invoices — Tolerances, Holds & Approvals

4.1 Invoice Validation, Invoice Tolerances, Holds and Releases 4.2 Invoice Approval Rules: Workflow, Spreadsheet Rules and Approval Actions 4.3 Prepayments, Recurring Invoices, Credit and Debit Memos

5 Chapter 5: Invoice Automation, AI & Subledger Accounting

5.1 AI in the Supplier Invoices Process: IDR, Document IO, the Payables Agent and Intelligent Defaulting 5.2 Importing Invoices: File-Based Data Import, Import Payables Invoices and Corrections 5.3 Setting Up Subledger Accounting for Payables

6 Chapter 6: Payments — Configuration

6.1 Payment Options, Payment Methods, Defaulting Rules and Payment Terms 6.2 Payment Process Profiles, Formats, Payment Systems and Transmission 6.3 Disbursement System Options, Payment Security and Payment Approval Rules

7 Chapter 7: Payments — Processing, Withholding, Accounting & AI

7.1 The Payment Process and Payment Process Request Templates 7.2 Completing Payments: Printing, Electronic Confirmation, Bank Acknowledgments, Single Payments, Stops and Voids 7.3 Withholding Tax Setup and US 1099 Reporting 7.4 Payment Accounting: Issue and Clearing, Gains and Losses, Discounts, Cross-Currency Payments and Bills Payable 7.5 AI in the Payments Process: the Payments Agent, Discount Intelligence, Virtual Cards and Fraud Controls

8 Chapter 8: Accounts Payable Balances & Period Close

8.1 Payables Calendars and Payables Accounting Period Statuses 8.2 Payables to General Ledger Reconciliation 8.3 The Payables Period Close Process: Unaccounted Transactions, Sweep and Close Exceptions 8.4 Balancing, Accruals and Year-End Activities in Payables 8.5 Accounts Payable Analysis and Reporting: Landing Pages, Dashboards, Aging Periods and Key Reports

9 Chapter 9: Expenses — Processing, Setup & Policies

9.1 Expenses Processing: From Expense Entry to Reimbursement 9.2 Expenses System Options, Expense Report Templates and Expense Types 9.3 Managing Expense Policies: Categories, Rate Determinants and Enforcement 9.4 Mileage and Per Diem Policies, Oracle Maps and Cumulative Mileage 9.5 Conversion Rate Policies, Receipt Requirements and Payment Hold Rules

10 Chapter 10: Expenses — Approvals, Cards, Advances, Audit & Travel

10.1 Configuring Expense Approval Rules in the BPM Worklist 10.2 Configuring Corporate Card Programs: Payment Options, Transaction Files and Accounting 10.3 Managing Cash Advances: Policies, Approval, Accounting and Application 10.4 Managing Audit Rules, the Expense Audit and Reimbursement 10.5 Configuring Travel Integration: Travel Partners, Itineraries and Trip Expense Reports

11 Chapter 11: AI, Mobile, Automation & Redwood

11.1 AI, Mobile and Automation in Expenses: Expense Assistant, Email Receipts and Touchless Expenses 11.2 Enabling Redwood Capabilities and Their Impact on Existing Configurations

7.5 AI in the Payments Process: the Payments Agent, Discount Intelligence, Virtual Cards and Fraud Controls

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

The Payments Agent has three assistants: Payment Options (compare programs), Supplier Offers (dynamic discount offer lifecycle) and Payment Execution (schedule and monitor payment process requests).

For dynamic discounting, the agent weighs the early-payment discount against the opportunity cost of paying early; for virtual cards, it weighs rebate potential and extended payment float.

Accepted supplier offers update the related installments, so later payment runs pay on the agreed terms through the normal approvals and controls.

The 26B Insights view lists exceptions such as spoiled payment documents, files pending acknowledgment for more than two days, and payments rejected by acknowledgment failure.

Oracle AI Apps predicts discount opportunities from payment terms, due dates, invoice amounts and annual percentage rates, and produces supplier scores from risk and performance metrics.

Last updated: October 2026

Oracle's exam page lists Explain the role of AI in the Payments process as an objective, and the credential overview mentions generative and agentic AI. AI in payments matters most in two areas:

Working capital: when and how to pay.

Execution oversight: spotting failures before suppliers complain.

The controls you configured in chapter 6 still apply. AI suggests and automates within them.

The Payments Agent

The Payments Agent for Payment Options, Offers, and Execution was introduced in release 26A and extended in 26B and 26D. Oracle's readiness notes say it changes payments from a focus on just paying suppliers to using the outstanding payment information to evaluate payment options and benefits in light of working capital goals . It is built on the AI Agent Studio for Fusion Applications and works through conversation and guided pages. Once it is enabled in 26A, the existing Payables > Payments link opens the Payments Agent.

It has three assistants:

Assistant What it does Examples of natural-language requests

Payment Options Reviews upcoming installments (due in the coming weeks) and compares programs : dynamic discounting, virtual credit cards and supply chain financing. It explains the economic impact and creates draft dynamic discount offers on the user's confirmation. "Compare the benefit of paying Supplier X early with a discount versus a virtual card"

Supplier Offers Runs the dynamic discount offer lifecycle : draft, review, send to suppliers, track responses, send reminders. When an offer is accepted, the related installments are updated so later payment runs pay on the agreed terms. "Show expired offers for Supplier X", "Send a reminder for this offer"

Payment Execution Guides scheduling and submitting payment process requests (including with templates), shows the status of payments and payment files, and highlights exceptions. It links to the standard pages for action, while keeping existing validations, approvals and controls. "What is the status of yesterday's payment file?"

How the agent compares programs

Dynamic discounting: the early-payment discount against the opportunity cost of paying cash earlier .

Virtual cards: the rebate and extended payment float , based on financing duration and program terms.

The results are shown side by side so treasury can choose according to cash flow and working capital goals. Oracle frames the agent as moving AP from "operational specialist" to "governor": the agent handles routine tactical work, and specialists manage by exception.

Insights (26B)

The Insights view gives a prioritized, actionable list. In 26B it covers:

payment documents spoiled in the last 30 days;
payment files terminated , pending action , or partially acknowledged because of acknowledgment failures;
payment files pending acknowledgment for more than two days ;
payments rejected because of acknowledgment failure;

the most frequent payment rejection errors in the last 30 days.

From each insight, users go straight to the assistant or page that resolves it. These insights match the processes in section 7.2: spoiled checks on Record Print Status, and ISO 20022 acknowledgments with automatic voids. That's why the processes matter even when an agent watches them.

Oracle's roadmap includes Standing Offers (suppliers enrolling permanently in optimization programs), virtual card offer lifecycles, email-based supplier outreach without Supplier Portal accounts, and a side-by-side canvas layout.

Oracle AI Apps: predicted discounts and supplier scores

Before the agent, Oracle offered predictive AI for Payables through Oracle AI Apps , a separate application that ingests large data volumes and uses decision science to predict outcomes.

Discounts: AI Apps calculates discount opportunities , its predicted outcomes, from payment terms, due dates, invoice amounts and annual percentage rates .

Supplier scores: AI Apps produces a supplier score , an aggregation of a series of risk and performance metrics . Oracle distinguishes it from a credit score , which analyzes a person's credit file and lending history.

Virtual card payments

Oracle's embedded virtual card program pays supplier invoices with single-use card numbers through participating banks. The 26B update added Banco Bradesco, Emirates NBD, NatWest and RBS. Earlier issuers include Barclays, Brex, First Abu Dhabi, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, Wells Fargo and Westpac. Benefits Oracle lists:

no need to store suppliers' bank details;
better buyer cash flow through card credit;
less check processing;

acknowledgment notifications in ERP.

Setup needs the Financial Application Administrator role. Oracle recommends an end-to-end "penny test" with the bank.

AI-assisted controls around payments

Supplier bank account validation (Redwood, 25C). Bank accounts entered at supplier registration are checked against J.P. Morgan's Account Validation Service for account validity and ownership. The result (Verified, Failed or Inconclusive) is shown to approvers to reduce payment fraud. It doesn't block payment (section 2.2).

Payables Agent anomaly detection (section 5.1) catches duplicate or unusual invoices before they reach a payment run.

Predictive Cash Forecasting (Treasury, 25C) uses predictive AI on cash positions. That is relevant when deciding whether early payment programs are affordable.

Exam angle

AI questions usually test what the feature does and where its limits are :

The Payments Agent evaluates programs and helps execute payments, but payment approval rules and validations still apply .

Accepted offers change installments , not the payment terms setup.

Insights point to acknowledgment and printing exceptions that you resolve with the standard processes in section 7.2.

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