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Amira Karim
Head of International Public Policy, Payments & Financial Services
Amazon
Amira Karim is a global public policy and payments leader at Amazon, where she works at the intersection of emerging technologies, AI, agentic commerce, and next-generation financial infrastructure. Her work focuses on the evolving policy architecture required for trusted digital commerce, including cross-border payments, digital identity, stablecoins, and programmable money, with an emphasis on governance, interoperability, and trust in the digital economy.
Prior to Amazon, Amira held roles across government, international development, and the private sector, including at Stripe, where she worked on global market expansion and international development initiatives focused on digital payments, financial inclusion, and the growth of digital economies across emerging markets. She has also worked alongside institutions including the World Bank. Based in Seattle and originally from Singapore, she engages closely with governments, regulators, multilateral institutions, and industry leaders globally on the future of trusted AI-enabled commerce and digital economic systems.
Speaking At
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9:30–11:00amMon 16 NovLaunchpadLaunchpad RoomOpen
Accountability & Liability In Agentic SystemsGlobal Frameworks and Shared Best Practices in Payments Chains
Trust Needed: The Future of Agentic Payments - Powered by Amazon
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Amira KarimHead of International Public Policy, Payments & Financial ServicesAmazon
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Arena FernandezHead of Digital Regulatory InitiativesAmazon
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Colin PayneHead of InnovationFinancial Conduct Authority (FCA)
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Jiang FangfangAsia Lead for Digital Financial ServiceInternational Finance Corporation
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Jose Manuel Marques SevillanoDirector Financial Market Infrastructures & InnovationBanco de España
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Nicole SandlerChief Ecosystem OfficerUbyx Inc
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Peter KerstensAdvisor, DG FISMAEuropean Commission
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Ramana KumarPresident of Stablecoin EcosystemADI Foundation
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Shayan HazirChief Digital Officer, Asia (xHK) & MENATHSBC
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Simran SinghAI Lab LeadFinancial Conduct Authority (FCA)
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Sonja DavidovicSenior Digital Expert on Transformative TechnologyInternational Monetary Fund
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Vishal MehtaManaging PartnerTravel & Payments
About this session
When an AI agent makes a payment across borders, who sets the rules and who is accountable if something goes wrong?
This session introduces the Agentic Payments Trust Principles, developed through the FCA Supercharged Sandbox as well as perspectives across the payment value chain will explore what it takes to trust AI agents with our payments – and how the trust principles can work in practice.
A panel discussion with GFIN AI Compass members and other regulators will examine how the trust principles connect with emerging approaches to agentic payments around the world, and what cooperation is needed to make this work with confidence.
Attendees will gain insights into the trust principles in-progress, how they have been applied , and the cooperation needed to govern AI agents in cross-border transactions.
9:30am - 9:45am
Opening Keynote
Speaker(s): Colin Payne, Head of Innovation, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Amira Karim, Head of International Public Policy, Payments & Financial Services, Amazon, Nicole Sandler, Chief Ecosystem Officer, Ubyx Inc
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9:45am - 10:20am
Stakeholders’ Perspectives: Connecting to the Ground
Speaker(s): Jiang Fangfang, Asia Lead for Digital Financial Services, International Finance Corporation, Shayan Hazir, Chief Digital Officer, Asia (xHK) & MENAT, HSBC, Vishal Mehta, Managing Partner, Travel & Payments, Arena Fernandez de Bobadilla Amoros, Head of Digital Regulatory Initiatives, Payments Acceptance and Experience, Amazon, Ramana Kumar, President of Stablecoin Ecosystem, ADI Foundation, Nicole Sandler, Chief Ecosystem Officer, Ubyx Inc (Moderator)
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10:20am - 10:55am
Panel Discussion: How the Trust Principles Link to What Various Jurisdictions are Thinking About in Relation to Agentic Payments
Speaker(s): Jose Manuel Marques Sevillano, Director Financial Market Infrastructures & Innovation, Banco de España, Simran Singh, AI Lab Chief Financial Architect, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Sonja Davidovic, Senior Digital Expert on Transformative Technology, International Monetary Fund, Peter Kerstens, Advisor, DG FISMA, European Commission, Amira Karim, Head of International Public Policy, Payments & Financial Services, Amazon (Moderator)
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10:55am - 11am
Audience Q&A and Closing
Speaker: Amira Karim, Head of International Public Policy, Payments & Financial Services, Amazon
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1:45–3:15pmTue 17 NovPublic-Private RoundtableRoundtable Room 4Open
Shaping Tomorrow's Innovation
Policy Meets Capital: Closing the SME Finance Gap
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Amira KarimHead of International Public Policy, Payments & Financial ServicesAmazon
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Andrew StainesAssistant Director GeneralWorld Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
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Arianne FerrerHead of External Affairs, Asia-PacificTala
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Erwan GelebartChief Executive OfficerAXIAN Digibank & Fintech
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H.E. Hem VanndyMinister of Industry, Science, Technology & InnovationKingdom of Cambodia
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Ismail RifauMinister of State for Economic Development, Transport and TradeRepublic of Maldives
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Jesse McWatersEVP, Head of Global PolicyMastercard
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Jiang FangfangAsia Lead for Digital Financial ServiceInternational Finance Corporation
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Nontobeko LubisiDirector, Financial InclusionNational Treasury of South Africa
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Syed Abdul MomenAdditional Managing Director & Head of SME BankingBRAC Bank, Bangladesh
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Pamela Coke-HamiltonExecutive DirectorInternational Trade CenterModerator
About this session
SMEs in developing economies face a financing gap that remains in the trillions, and it is growing faster than the economies themselves. Supply alone will not close it. Policy, data and market infrastructure must develop alongside it.
This roundtable brings ministers responsible for SMEs together with leaders from payments, fintech, banking and development finance. It looks at three questions:
- Which cross-border payment and trade-finance rails would help SMEs sell abroad?
- How can governments crowd in private lending at scale?
- What role should the public sector play in enabling digital lending, including alternative data and AI credit scoring?
As a Singapore stop on the Road to Geneva, the discussion will produce priorities for the 2nd Global SME Ministerial Meeting in May 2027 and for the SME Trade Finance Facility.
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