AI-Driven Digital Payment Ecosystems for Financial Inclusion under Saudi Vision 2030

This review paper develops an integrated framework for understanding how artificial intelligence is reshaping digital payment ecosystems and widening financial inclusion in Saudi Arabia under Vision 2030. The study shifts the analytical focus from isolated payment instruments to the ecosystem logic that links regulation, interoperable payment rails, digital identity, open banking, merchant acceptance, consumer trust, and AI-enabled decision systems. Unlike studies that discuss payments, fintech, or inclusion separately, this paper examines how machine learning, intelligent fraud controls, automated onboarding, personalized interfaces, and data-driven governance can jointly move the Saudi payment market from transactional digitization to inclusive financial architecture. A structured narrative review was adopted, drawing mainly on literature and policy sources published between 2020 and 2025, alongside the attached model article used as a structural guide for review design and framework presentation. The findings show that Saudi Arabia has built strong enabling conditions through policy coordination, faster payment infrastructure, fintech promotion, and open banking reforms, yet inclusion gains still depend on digital capability, trust, affordability, merchant readiness, and accountable AI governance. The paper proposes a five-layer ecosystem model linking regulatory foundations, intelligent payment rails, AI service orchestration, inclusive user interfaces, and continuous governance learning. The review concludes that AI can deepen inclusion only when it is embedded in interoperable, transparent, and citizen-centered payment ecosystems rather than deployed as a stand-alone technology.