Ant International Partners with Visa and Mastercard on AI Payment
· business
The AI Payments Conundrum: Trust in the Age of Agentic Commerce
As consumers increasingly rely on artificial intelligence agents to handle their daily transactions, trust becomes a pressing concern. Ant International’s recent partnership with Visa and Mastercard aims to address this issue by developing a common standard for AI payments.
The anticipated growth is staggering, with McKinsey projecting that AI agents will handle between $3 trillion to $5 trillion in global consumer commerce by 2030. However, as Ant International’s chief innovation officer Jiang-Ming Yang cautions, trust is a double-edged sword. “Trust is the foundation of the AI transformation,” he says, but also acknowledges the risk of AI agents’ “hallucination” – essentially, their tendency to make decisions that are not in line with human intent.
Building trust between humans and machines requires addressing interoperability issues. In developing economies, digital wallets have become increasingly prevalent, making seamless transactions a daunting task. Ant International’s Alipay+ system has partnered with over 50 e-wallets, but users often switch between different platforms, creating challenges for merchants and payment processors.
Visa and Mastercard’s systems for secure AI agent payments are touted as solutions, but experts warn that more than technical prowess is required. “Interoperability across Know-Your-Agent frameworks is essential to making agentic commerce work at scale,” says Pablo Fourez, chief digital officer at Mastercard. This emphasis on standardization highlights the need for a consistent way for merchants and payment processors to recognize trustworthy AI agents.
The Alipay example raises questions about agency and accountability. If an AI agent places an order without explicit human consent, who bears responsibility? The user, the company behind the AI tool, or perhaps even the AI itself?
As the world hurtles toward a future where agentic commerce dominates transactions, addressing these fundamental concerns is essential. The partnership between Ant International and Visa/Mastercard is a step in the right direction, but it’s only one part of a broader puzzle. To ensure trust in AI payments, clear guidelines for accountability, agency, and transparency must be established.
The stakes are high, with $13 trillion in spending already accounted for by digital wallets as of 2025. The pace of innovation is accelerating, but so too are the risks. As users become increasingly reliant on virtual assistants and AI-powered tools, secure systems that prioritize human oversight and accountability must be developed.
Regulators and policymakers face a pressing question: will they establish strict guidelines for agentic commerce or let the industry self-regulate? The answer may lie in striking a balance between innovation and caution, recognizing both the potential benefits of AI-driven spending and the imperative to safeguard human interests.
To ensure trust in AI payments, it’s essential that we develop secure standards that prioritize transparency, accountability, and human agency. As experts like Jiang-Ming Yang warn, “We need to make sure people feel safe.”
Reader Views
- DHDr. Helen V. · economist
The rush to standardize AI payments overlooks a critical aspect: what happens when human intent clashes with machine decision-making? In cases where AI agents make purchasing decisions without explicit human input, can we truly hold the merchant or payment processor accountable for the transaction's legitimacy? The article raises important concerns about interoperability and trust, but neglects to address the fundamental question of liability in these scenarios. Until we resolve this issue, we risk creating a system where machines perpetuate unintended consequences with no clear recourse for redress.
- MTMarcus T. · small-business owner
This partnership between Ant International and Visa/Mastercard might be seen as a solution to the trust conundrum, but it's really just treating symptoms. The real issue is the lack of transparency in AI decision-making processes. What happens when an AI agent makes a "hallucination" - does liability fall on the merchant, the payment processor, or the developer? We need more than standardization; we need clear guidelines for accountability and a framework for auditing AI agents' actions to prevent unforeseen consequences.
- TNThe Newsroom Desk · editorial
The rush to implement AI payments has glossed over a critical concern: accountability. While standardizing interoperability and Know-Your-Agent frameworks is essential for trust, merchants and consumers need clarity on what happens when an AI agent botches a transaction or makes unauthorized decisions. Ant International's partnership with Visa and Mastercard takes us one step closer to resolving this issue, but it's time to consider the liability implications of delegating financial decision-making to machines.