AI agents for business finance: what they can and can't do
What AI agents can do in bookkeeping, close, collections and compliance today, where a person must stay in charge, and how to judge a product.
The short answer
Set approval limits in each currency, by role rather than by person, with a second approver above a threshold and the board approving anything unusual or above a higher ceiling. Write the limits into a board resolution, make sure each banking platform enforces them, and keep a record of who approved what. Cross-border firms also need a rule for when approvers are in different time zones or unavailable.
In a business run from London with a team in Lagos, money often moves faster than oversight. A finance officer in Nigeria needs to pay suppliers before the UK office opens; a director travelling cannot approve; a supplier says its bank details have changed. Approval limits decide in advance who can say yes, up to what amount and with whose second signature. This guide shows how to design them.
Start with a written policy
Approval limits are a decision of the company, so record them. GOV.UK's guidance on company records says a limited company must keep records of shareholder votes and resolutions; a board resolution setting payment authority, filed with the minutes, is the cleanest way to show what was agreed and when. Your Nigerian subsidiary's board should pass its own resolution for its own accounts, because its bank will ask for a mandate that matches.
A sample approval matrix
The figures below are examples only. Set yours by looking at typical payment sizes in each currency.
| Payment | GBP account | NGN account | Approval |
|---|---|---|---|
| Routine, existing payee | Up to £2,000 | Up to ₦2,000,000 | One approver (finance officer) |
| Larger or new payee | £2,000 to £25,000 | ₦2,000,000 to ₦25,000,000 | Two approvers, one a director |
| Major | Over £25,000 | Over ₦25,000,000 | Two directors, noted at next board meeting |
| Any change of payee bank details | Any amount | Any amount | Verified by phone on a known number, plus second approver |
| Payments to directors or related parties | Any amount | Any amount | Board approval |
Two design points matter. First, set limits in each currency rather than converting one figure, because the naira-to-pound rate moves and a limit pegged to a rate will drift. Second, limit by role, not name, so the matrix survives staff changes.
Dual control and segregation
Dual control means two people must act before money leaves. It works only if the two roles are separate:
- The person who sets up a new payee should not be the person who approves the first payment to it.
- The person who prepares a payment run should not release it.
- Bank detail changes should be checked by someone outside the request chain.
- Reconciliation should be done by someone who did not make the payments.
Small teams cannot always separate every role; segregation of duties in a small UK–Nigeria team covers compensating checks. For payment fraud patterns these controls stop, see invoice fraud and business email compromise.
Make the platform enforce the policy
A policy on paper does nothing if the banking app lets one person release any amount. Check that each account, UK and Nigerian, can enforce user roles, approval thresholds and a second approver. Nigerian rules add their own layer. Proshare's report of the Central Bank of Nigeria's instant payments circular, effective 1 July 2026, says maximum instant transfer thresholds are ₦25m for individuals and ₦250m for corporates, that customers can adjust limits within those maximums subject to risk checks, and that opting in or out of instant transfers needs multi-factor authentication. Set your internal limits well inside the bank's ceiling.
Example: one payment through the matrix
Example only. The Lagos finance officer receives an invoice for ₦6,500,000 from a new IT supplier. Because the payee is new and the amount sits in the second band, the matrix requires two approvers, one a director. The officer sets up the payee; a UK director, who did not create it, calls the supplier on a number taken from its website rather than the invoice, confirms the account details and approves. The payment narrative carries the invoice number, and the approval record is saved with the invoice. Had the supplier emailed a week later to say its bank had changed, the same check would run again before any further payment, whatever the amount.
Agent-prepared payments follow the same rules
If software or an AI agent prepares payment runs, treat it as the preparer in the matrix. It can assemble the batch and flag anything unusual, but it should never count as one of the two approvers, and its ceiling should be no higher than a junior officer's. See human approval when an AI agent prepares payments.
Handling time zones and absence
- Name at least two approvers in each country, so one absence does not stop payments.
- Agree a daily cut-off by which UK approvers clear Lagos requests; see scheduling across BST and WAT.
- Allow urgent payments only within a lower ceiling, with approval recorded after the fact the same day.
- Never let urgency override the bank-details check.
Review and record
Review the matrix at least once a year and after any fraud attempt. Keep the approval record with each payment for the same period as the accounting records, which GOV.UK sets at 6 years from the end of the financial year for a UK company.
Where Pryme fits
On a Pryme Business Account, the Chief of Staff and Finance agents prepare payments, a person approves above a set ceiling, and actions are recorded. Security uses an authenticator app rather than SMS codes, and a transaction PIN, which supports a policy where only named approvers can release funds.
Questions people ask
What is a payment approval matrix?
A table setting who can approve which payments, up to what amount and with whose second signature, adopted by the board and enforced on each bank account.
Should approval limits be in pounds or naira?
Set them separately in each currency, so exchange-rate movements do not change the effective limit.
What is dual authorisation for business payments?
Two separate people must act before money leaves, usually one preparing and one approving, with neither able to do both.
What are the CBN instant transfer limits for companies?
Proshare reports that the CBN circular effective 1 July 2026 sets a maximum of ₦250m for corporates and ₦25m for individuals, adjustable within those limits subject to risk checks.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Running a limited company, company and accounting records · accessed Oct 2026
- Proshare: CBN introduces new security measures and customer controls for instant payments (13 Mar 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.