Visa and Mastercard have launched new tools that let developers connect artificial intelligence (AI)-powered shopping assistants to their payment networks.
Announced in late April, the separate offerings support the rise of “agentic commerce,” where AI agents search for products, make recommendations and complete purchases on behalf of users. Once consumers set spending limits and preferences, the agents take over, handling tasks from ordering groceries to booking travel. To support the transactions, both companies said they’re working with tech firms like OpenAI, Stripe and Microsoft.
“Soon people will have AI agents browse, select, purchase and manage on their behalf,” said Jack Forestell, Visa’s chief product and strategy officer, in a statement. “These agents will need to be trusted with payments, not only by users, but by banks and sellers as well.”
The push comes as enterprise interest in AI agents continues to grow. In KPMG’s latest AI Quarterly Pulse Survey, for example, 65% of organizations said they were piloting AI agents in Q1 2025, up from 37% the previous quarter. Consumer interest is also climbing: according to Salesforce’s Connected Shoppers Report, March 2025, 66% of shoppers said they’re interested in using AI agents to secure high-demand items before they sell out, and 65% want agents that can buy products once they reach a target price.
Visa opens payment tools for AI agents
Visa launched its Intelligent Commerce program on April 30. The offering gives developers access to APIs and tools that integrate payment functions — such as identity verification and spending controls — into AI agents.
In a corporate announcement, Visa described the move as the next step in digital commerce. With AI-powered agents, Visa said, consumers will be able to hand off everyday tasks like ordering groceries or buying clothes, while still setting the rules for how and when payments occur.
“Just like the shift from physical shopping to online, and from online to mobile, Visa is setting a new standard for a new era of commerce,” said Forestell.
To support a global rollout of Visa Intelligent Commerce, Visa said it’s working with major AI and tech companies, including OpenAI, Microsoft, Anthropic, Stripe and Samsung. Key features of the platform include:
- AI-ready cards. These replace standard card numbers with tokenized credentials — a security method that substitutes sensitive card data with unique digital identifiers to reduce fraud. These confirm that a consumer’s chosen agent is allowed to act on their behalf and bring identity verification to AI commerce, Visa said.
- Personalized recommendations. Consumers can choose to share spending insights with their agent to improve shopping results.
- Spending rules and real-time controls. Users set purchase limits and conditions. Visa said it uses real-time transaction data to enforce the rules and help manage disputes.
Mastercard launches Agent Pay for conversational commerce
Mastercard unveiled its own program, Agent Pay, on April 29, describing it as a way for AI agents to complete purchases on behalf of users. The company said the technology builds on its existing payment infrastructure, including contactless payments, card-on-file, and tokenization. Mastercard specifically designed it for integration into conversational AI platforms.
“This means that for a soon-to-be-30-year-old planning her milestone birthday party, she can now chat with an AI agent to proactively curate a selection of outfits and accessories from local boutiques and online retailers based on her style, the venue’s ambience, and weather forecasts,” Mastercard stated. “Based on her preferences and feedback, the intelligent agent can make the purchase, and also recommend the best way to pay, for example using Mastercard One Credential.”
The program supports both consumer and B2B applications, Mastercard said. To support business-focused use cases, the company is working with technology providers like IBM, specifically its watsonx Orchestrate platform. Mastercard said it’s also partnering with acquirers and checkout services, such as Braintree and Checkout.com, to expand tokenization capabilities already used by merchants.
Like Visa’s program, Agent Pay uses tokenized credentials to curb fraud risk. To support trust and safety, Mastercard said AI agents will need to be verified before they can initiate payments. Users can set specific rules for what they authorize agents to purchase. The platform also supports authentication tools, including on-device biometrics, the company said.
AI agent adoption is accelerating beyond Visa, Mastercard
The announcements come as organizations increasingly explore the use of AI agents.
According to KPMG’s Q1 2025 AI Quarterly Pulse Survey, 99% of executives surveyed said their organizations plan to deploy AI agents, with 67% expecting to buy pre-built solutions and another 27% opting for a build-and-buy approach. The survey included 130 U.S. executives at companies with annual revenue of $1 billion or more.
“Notably, there has been a jump in the percentage of organizations transitioning from planning to use agents to actively piloting agents, across most categories,” KPMG stated.
But trust remains a key concern. More than one-third of respondents cited personal trust in generative AI as a top challenge this year, the survey found. Another 32% cited concerns over the accuracy and fairness of AI outputs by 2030, followed by fears about misuse by bad actors (30%).
Consumer sentiment around agentic AI also remains mixed. While 65% of shoppers are interested in using AI to buy items once they hit a target price, only 47% said they’re comfortable with AI agents purchasing recommended products on their behalf, according to Salesforce’s Connected Shoppers Report from March. Separately, just 24% of U.S. consumers said they’re comfortable sharing data with an AI shopping assistant, according to a December 2024 survey by eMarketer and CivicScience.
“As agents move into workflows, trust is back at the center of the AI conversation,” said Steve Chase, vice chair of AI and digital innovation at KPMG, in a statement. “There is no agent-powered future without a strong foundation of trust — grounded in governance, data integrity, and responsible use. If you want to scale with confidence, trust has to come first.”
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