Cybercrime projected to be world's 3rd-largest economy by 2030

Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach's warning places cybercrime on a scale rarely discussed in mainstream business conversation—not as a cost line or operational risk, but as an economy unto itself. The $15.6 trillion projection for 2030 makes cybercrime comparable to the largest national economies, underscoring how the financial system's vulnerability has grown. Miebach frames this threat as rooted in a symmetrical arms race: banks and financial institutions are deploying generative AI to detect and prevent fraud, while fraudsters are simultaneously using the same technology to engineer more sophisticated attacks. This dynamic creates a treadmill effect where neither side is pulling ahead permanently. Beyond the macro-economic framing, Miebach identifies a specific anxiety point: the delegation of money management to AI agents. As consumers and businesses adopt automation tools that make purchases and financial decisions independently, a new surface for attack opens—one where the convenience of autonomous agents is weighed against security risks that are not yet fully understood or mitigated by the industry.