Artificial Intelligence at Akua: Intelligent Scalability for Payments in Emerging Markets
In the vertiginous world of digital payments, the ability to innovate and deliver fluid experiences is crucial. At Akua, we have always believed that Artificial Intelligence is essential, not just a trend, but a tool to transform the way companies interact with their financial services. Our goal is to help you make the most of the potential of AI in payments.
That's why we're excited to share how we've implemented the Model Context Protocol (MCP). This initiative allows us, our customer, to incorporate powerful capabilities of AI for payments directly into your workflows, safely, efficiently and, most importantly, Simple. Get ready to see how the integration with tools such as Claude Desktop or automation platforms such as N8N becomes incredibly accessible.
Model Context Protocol (MCP): Connecting AI to Your Payment Platform
To understand how we enable these capabilities, it is key to know the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Unlike being a proprietary technology, MCP is an open and standardized protocol designed to facilitate secure and structured communication between language models (such as those that empower AI assistants) and external systems such as Payment APIs, databases or third-party tools.
In the MCP client-server architecture:
- Hosts: These are the AI applications or models that initiate the interaction (e.g. Claude Desktop).
- Servers (such as Akua's): They act as the intelligent bridge, providing Hosts with the context (what tools or APIs are available), the tools (the actual ability to call the API with defined parameters) and the Prompts necessary to interact correctly and safely.
In essence, MCP creates a common and secure language so that the Artificial Intelligence can “understand” and “operate” on your payment data and functionality without exposing technical complexity or compromising security. In the world of payments, this represents a significant step forward.
The Akua Challenge and Solution with MCP
We set ourselves an ambitious challenge: How to allow our customers They will take advantage of the IA to interact with our robust Payment API in a way that was inherently secure and at the same time remarkably easy to use and scale?
We needed a solution that addressed these critical points:
- Unbreakable Security: The connection between AI and our financial APIs should be foolproof, without exposing sensitive credentials.
- Accessible Integration: Allow customers with different technical levels to connect their AI tools.
- Agile Extensibility: To be able to quickly add new payment features accessible through AI.
- Data Protection: Ensure that sensitive data remained secure and within permission limits.
El Model Context Protocol offered us the ideal technical framework to build a solution that would meet all these requirements, allowing us to create a secure and extensible bridge.
Building the Bridge: Akua's Scalable Implementation of the MCP Server
To make this vision a reality, at Akua we developed our own MCP Server. Built on Go, using the mcp-go open source library, our architecture was designed to be robust, modular and, fundamentally, highly scalable and extensible.
The Key to Extensibility: JSON-Based Configuration
One of the most important architectural decisions was to define the exhibition of our Payment APIs to the MCP Server using simple JSON configuration files.
JSON:
{
"name": "retrieve_akua_payment",
"path": "/v1/payments/{payment_id}",
"method": "GET",
"description": "Recupera la información de un pago",
"parameters": [
{
"name": "payment_id",
"type": "string",
"description": "ID único del pago",
"required": true,
"location": "path"
}
]
}
The direct benefit for our customers? This approach means that we can add new payment features to our API and make them accessible through IA simply updating a configuration file and redeploying the server.
- Agility: We add capabilities AI-ready in minutes, not weeks.
- Rapid Innovation: Our product team can innovate and deliver new tools integrated with AI at high speed.
- Simplicity: Complex code development is not required to enable new endpoints via MCP.
For example, when we launched our paid link functionality, enabling it for AI interaction was as simple as adding its JSON definition:
{
"name": "create_akua_payment_link",
"path": "/v1/links",
"method": "POST",
"description": "Crea un link de pago que puede ser compartido con clientes",
... // otros parámetros
}
Akua's AI in Action: Integrations with Tools You Already Use
The true magic of the Akua MCP Server comes to life when we connect it with tools from Artificial Intelligence and automation that you or your team are already using.
Interact with Your Payments Using Natural Language with Claude Desktop
As our initial partner in this initiative, Anthropic and its AI assistant, Claude Desktop ([External link to Claude Desktop - Opens in new tab]), are a perfect example of how Akua uses MCP to simplify payment transactions.
Imagine power:
- View payment details: “Show me the status and details of the payment with ID 123456".
- Create payment links instantly: “Generate a payment link for 25 USD to send to Juan Pérez.”
- Update business information: “Change the category of the store with ID 7890 to 'Clothing Store'”.
- ... all of this, simply talking to the AI!
Thanks to the information that our MCP Server provides to Claude, the model can interpret your request in natural language and translate it into a structured and secure call to the Payment API from Akua. It is frictionless interaction with your payment platform.
Automate Payment Flows with N8N
The integration of Akua with N8N ([External link to N8N - Opens in new tab]), a powerful “low-code” automation platform, opens up a range of possibilities for optimize your payment processes through Artificial Intelligence and automated logic.
With the MCP-based Akua node in N8N, you can build complex workflows without writing a line of code:
- Automate the generation of payment links: Create links automatically when a new invoice is generated in your accounting software (integrating N8N with your billing system).
- Manage refunds: Initiate a refund in Akua automatically when you receive a support ticket with a specific label.
- Generate custom reports: Extract payment data to create weekly or monthly reports.
- Connecting Akua to your ecosystem: Integrate payment flows with your CRM, email marketing tools, and more.
The configuration in N8N is intuitive. You simply add the Akua MCP node, select the desired operation (based on the “tools” exposed by our server) and map the data from other nodes in your flow. It is powerful and accessible automation.
Security and Control: Pillars of Our MCP Implementation
In Akua, the security is, and will always be, our top priority. Our MCP Server implementation has been designed from the ground up with the highest standards to protect your payment transactions and sensitive data:
- Strong Authentication: We implement OAuth authentication to ensure that only authorized AI tools or platforms can connect and interact with the MCP Server.
- Granular Permissions: Define and manage specific permissions for each integration, strictly limiting what data and operations the AI can access.
- Full Audit: Every interaction and operation performed through the MCP Server is recorded, providing a detailed history for internal audits.
- Total Control: The server-based architecture gives you control over connections and access, as opposed to directly exposing APIs.
We comply with leading security standards such as PCI DSS 4.0.1, and our approach to MCP reinforces our commitment to maintaining your secure payments In the era of Artificial Intelligence.
The Akua Vision: An AI-Powered Payments Ecosystem
The MCP Server is a fundamental piece, but it is part of a much larger strategy at Akua. We are actively building an ecosystem of AI-powered payments, where the Artificial Intelligence it is not an add-on, but is integrated into the core of the platform.
Other uses of AI in Akua include:
- Predictive Fraud Analysis: Advanced models that detect suspicious behavior in real time to protect you.
- Smart Recommendations (Under Development): AI to suggest the best payment or configuration strategies according to your business.
- AI Agents for Operational Efficiency: Intelligent tools for automating tasks such as onboarding, reconciliation and chargeback management.
All of these components work together to provide you with a smarter, safer and more efficient payment platform.
Conclusion: The New Era of Interaction with Your Payments Has Arrived
El Model Context Protocol (MCP), implemented in a secure and scalable way by Akua, is redefining the way you can interact with your payment platform. By enabling the smooth connection between AI tools And our Payment API, we offer you an unprecedented ability to automate, consult and manage your payment transactions using the power of natural language and intelligent workflows.
At Akua, we are committed to staying at the forefront of Artificial Intelligence in payments, using technologies such as MCP to empower your business. La New era of payments, where the interface is as intuitive as a conversation and the automations are accessible to everyone, is already a reality with Akua.