AI will reshape payments, but trust will be real game

As agents increasingly take on the role of purchasing products and completing transactions on behalf of users, the payments landscape is set for a significant transformation. Suresh Sethi, Group Country Manager of Visa in India and South Asia, highlighted the growing influence of AI agents in the payments industry during a panel discussion at The Economic Times World Leaders Forum 2026.

These AI agents are designed to discover products, compare options, create carts, and eventually complete purchases, raising critical questions about trust and security.

The concept of a "payment password" may evolve to focus on user intent rather than traditional authentication methods. This means that websites and payment systems must be able to recognize legitimate AI agents, understand their actions, and confirm that they are acting in accordance with the user's actual intent. Tokenization and new forms of payment credentials could play a crucial role in this process, helping to distinguish between authorized AI agents and malicious bots.

However, the increasing use of AI in payments also presents new challenges. Fraudsters can leverage AI to create deceptive messages, automate attacks, and operate at a larger scale. At the same time, payment networks can use AI to identify suspicious behavior and enhance fraud detection. To stay ahead of this evolving landscape, the industry will need to shift from static fraud rules to real-time, risk-based intelligence that considers factors such as transaction velocity, timing, value, and behavioral patterns.

The role of banks and payment companies may also change in this AI-driven future. While consumers may become less concerned with the specific payment method used, the institutions behind these systems will need to ensure seamless transaction processing, secure identity verification, accurate transaction settlement, data management, and comprehensive auditing. Banks will continue to play a vital role in identity verification, transaction authority establishment, and overall process auditing.

As AI agents become more prevalent in payments, the concept of the "payment rail" may become obsolete. Consumers will focus on the speed, reliability, cost, and safety of their transactions rather than the underlying payment infrastructure. Banks, wallets, UPI, tokenized deposits, and stablecoins could become increasingly invisible to the end-user, while banks will need to adapt to verify user identity, set up agent authority, settle transactions, and maintain auditable records.

The growing interaction between machines and financial transactions underscores the importance of guardrails and human oversight. Regulatory bodies, governance structures, and security measures will remain critical as AI agents make decisions with real financial consequences. The next major revolution in payments may revolve around determining when and how AI agents should be allowed to spend users' money, ensuring that the ultimate goal of the transaction aligns with the user's intent.