Mastercard Says Consumer Choice at the Center of Agent Pay

Mastercard's U.S. Co-President, Chiro Aikat, emphasized during a recent conversation with PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster that consumer choice remains the cornerstone of agentic commerce. Despite the prevalence of AI among 132 million consumers, convincing them to trust artificial intelligence agents with their spending authority presents a challenge.

Aikat likened the development of agentic commerce to previous advancements in payments, such as EMV, pay-by-phone, and other technologies. He highlighted that, similar to those changes, agentic commerce is progressing rapidly, potentially becoming an integral part of mobile, eCommerce, and recurring payments.

However, Aikat cautioned that consumers' willingness to hand over spending authority to AI agents may not follow the same pattern observed with previous payment technologies. While increased usage typically leads to greater comfort and comfort in adopting new payment methods, consumers may become more selective about the decisions they allow AI agents to make, given the complexity of their preferences.

For instance, in the case of airline travel, a shopper may prefer a particular airline due to accumulated miles or points. An apparel buyer might prioritize rewards or return policies, while a routine household purchase may have fewer such considerations. Aikat argued that agentic commerce will reshape loyalty, allowing AI agents to prioritize consumers' preferences ahead of the purchase, rather than simply focusing on price.

Mastercard's Agent Pay serves as an early example of how the company is navigating this process. The AI agent can utilize information about a consumer's pets, their needs, and identify suitable products, locate where they are sold, and guide the consumer through the merchant's digital experience to complete the purchase using a card on file.

Aikat stressed that successful payment technologies have always been based on experience, ease of use, and trust. He emphasized the importance of making agentic commerce commonplace for consumers, without needing to understand the underlying mechanisms. PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster further discussed how agentic commerce could become embedded in various digital channels and what banks, merchants, and payments providers must accommodate for consumers to decide on the level of authority they grant to their AI agents.