"AI Unlocks Your Wallet"... Payment Market Reshaped by 'Agentic Commerce'

As agentic commerce, where artificial intelligence (AI) selects products and even completes payments on behalf of users, becomes a reality, the payment market structure is undergoing a transformation. With pilot programs for AI agents and the establishment of digital asset infrastructure underway in card and payment networks, industry analysis suggests that the key to the widespread adoption of agentic commerce will be securing consumer trust so that they can confidently delegate payment transactions to AI.

원본보기 아이콘

According to the financial industry on April 8, Shinhan Card recently succeeded, for the first time in the domestic card sector, in piloting “AI Agent Pay” in partnership with Mastercard, where AI carries out the entire process from search to payment on behalf of the user. Building on this achievement, Shinhan Card plans to introduce AI agents in areas frequently used by consumers, such as travel and shopping, and to expand the scope of application in the future.

With the payment initiator shifting from humans to AI, the supporting payment methods are also evolving. In particular, digital asset-based payments capable of real-time settlement are gaining attention. In this context, KB Kookmin Card is pursuing a hybrid model that combines digital assets with existing card payment methods by utilizing public blockchain networks such as Avalanche. This model is designed to be scalable in response to regulatory and market environment changes, and to broaden its applications to include functions such as charging and settlement.

Not only domestic card companies but also global payment network providers are expanding their payment networks based on blockchain. Recently, Visa announced its participation as a super validator in the Canton Network, which is widely used for the issuance and trading of tokenized financial assets. This means Visa will play a core role in verifying and approving transactions on the network. This move is interpreted as a strategy to implement blockchain-based payments that meet privacy protection and regulatory compliance requirements while promoting the expansion of on-chain finance.

As changes in private payment networks accelerate, similar developments are occurring in the public sector, such as central banks. The Bank of Korea, through “Project Hangang,” aims to build a digital currency infrastructure using smart contracts and plans to develop technology enabling digital currency and deposit tokens to function as payment methods in AI agent-based digital asset transactions. Previously, the Bank of Korea verified that deposit tokens could be used as a payment method in services where AI searches for and purchases products.

Some experts point out that the core variable for the proliferation of AI agents lies not in technology, but in “trust.” While consumers show high acceptance of AI-driven product searches, they continue to express concerns about security and control at the purchase and payment stages. A card industry official said, “When consumers delegate payment authority to AI, trust and security remain key issues,” adding, “The future expansion of agentic commerce will depend not only on technological competitiveness but also on a trust framework, including a safe authentication system.”

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.