Mastercard Pushes Agentic Commerce Into Reality

Hey Payments Fanatic!

Agentic commerce is moving from theory to action, and Mastercard is at the center of it.

The global card network announced the completion of a pilot that delivered its first authenticated agentic transaction in Thailand with Krungthai Card Public Company Limited (KTC). 

The pilot leveraged Mastercard Agent Pay and was initiated by AI agents in a controlled pilot environment, ensuring security, transparency, and full consumer control. 

The transaction used tokenized credentials authenticated with Mastercard Payment Passkeys to ensure strong customer verification and data protection.

Two weeks ago, we discussed how Mastercard was doing live transactions across Latin America and the Caribbean using AI agents on existing rails. 

As part of the efforts to accelerate the growth of agentic commerce across Asia Pacific, the card issuer and network operator will establish a regional AI Center of Excellence in Singapore to drive innovation and strengthen governance for AI-led transactions.

Keep up with the latest in the Payments world. 👇 Back tomorrow!

Cheers,

Marcel

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NEWS

🇹🇭 Mastercard and Krungthai Card complete first live agentic transaction in Thailand. The pilot leveraged Mastercard Agent Pay and was initiated by AI agents in a controlled pilot environment, ensuring security, transparency, and full consumer control.

🇪🇹 Mastercard deepens Ethiopia push as StarPay and Choice Microfinance seal strategic digital finance deals. The collaboration is expected to expand digital payment adoption, empower merchants, and unlock seamless cross-border transaction capabilities for Ethiopian businesses and consumers.

🇦🇺 Airwallex launches new products. This month, Airwallex rolled out a few updates to its products, including a Balance Snapshot Report, expanded Asian payment methods (like JKOPay), AI-powered spend workflows, stronger approval controls, and improved localization. 

🇭🇰 PhotonPay expands Global Payout Network to accelerate localized payments worldwide. By deepening its integration with local banking systems and digital wallets, PhotonPay is enabling businesses to execute high-frequency, multi-scenario payments with unprecedented speed and precision.

🇬🇷 Paymentology supports the next phase of growth for Snappi. With its cloud-based processing infrastructure, Paymentology is enabling Snappi to expand services, improve resilience, and meet evolving regulatory requirements. Keep reding

🇸🇬 Kasikornbank enables Grab QR cross-border payments for Thai travellers. The blockchain-powered infrastructure will enable real-time cross-border transactions between Thailand and Singapore without requiring travellers to exchange currency or open overseas bank accounts.

🇺🇸 Crypto infrastructure firm Alchemy launches AI payments tools. AgentPay is a tool designed to let AI payment systems from providers work together through a single API endpoint. The product addresses fragmentation in agentic payments, where merchants currently need separate integrations for different protocols.

🇺🇸 Circle launches CPN-Managed Payments, a full-stack platform for seamless stablecoin settlement. This fully managed, unified stablecoin settlement solution allows payment service providers (PSPs), FinTechs, banks, and global enterprises to access the speed and efficiency of regulated digital dollars without managing digital assets directly.

🇸🇬 Thunes joins Circle Payments Network Manage Payments to advance global payment interoperability. As part of this alliance, Thunes will enable access to CPN Managed Payments for its customers, enabling stablecoin-powered settlement capabilities while allowing them to continue operating within existing fiat-based workflows.

🇺🇦 Ukraine's national bank simplifies Open Banking payment initiation requirements. Under the updated requirements, PISPs are no longer required to populate the payment instruction field specifying the name of the recipient's payment service provider.

🇧🇷 Nubank evolves contactless payments and integrates Pix, debit, and credit in a single tap on the phone. The new feature allows customers to make payments simply by bringing their device close to terminals compatible with contactless technology, with no need for a physical card.

🇺🇸 Ant International supports the 2026 New York Liberty Season and Sustainability. This partnership aligns with Ant's global strategy to expand its digital payments ecosystem and promote financial inclusion, while also supporting a prominent women's professional sports franchise and its environmental initiatives.

🌏 Visa's Sandeep Ghosh to step down as India and South Asia country manager. Sandeep Ghosh is stepping down after four years to pursue a new opportunity, with a successor already identified as part of a planned leadership transition. Continue reading

🇲🇽 FinTech APLAZO expands its financing with BBVA Spark to US$50 million to boost access to credit in Mexico. The partnership aims to expand access to flexible credit, helping millions of underserved consumers make purchases and build digital credit histories.

🌍 Major banks back SWIFT’s blockchain push, strengthening Ripple integration. The combined force of SWIFT’s blockchain-ledger strategy and Ripple’s infrastructure is poised to transform cross-border payments. By linking traditional banking with digital assets, this integration can slash settlement times, boost transparency, and lower transaction costs, all within regulatory frameworks.

🌍 Europe eyes Ethereum for Euro stablecoin layer, signaling a shift from experimentation to real financial infrastructure planning. With growing institutional adoption from players like BlackRock and UBS, blockchain is increasingly being considered alongside traditional systems to enhance speed, transparency, and efficiency.

GOLDEN NUGGET

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬? — an introduction to one of the most transformative payment experiences globally by Thunes 👇Created by Arthur Bedel 💳 ♻️

𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬

► Mobile wallets are digital financial applications that enable users to store value, initiate payments, manage transactions, and access financial services directly from a mobile device. From embedded wallets in super apps to card-linked wallets enabling NFC payments, they are replacing cash & cards.

📈 In 2025, digital wallet users are ~4.4–4.5 billion globally, with projections reaching ~6.0 billion by 2030.

𝐓𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬

1️⃣ 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝-𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐩 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬

→ Operate within a single merchant or platform ecosystem. Funds can only be spent with that provider.

▪️ Best for: Brand loyalty and controlled ecosystems

▪️ Subway App, Starbucks Rewards, Walmart Pay, ShopeePay

2️⃣ 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧-𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐩 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬

→ Linked to payment cards or bank accounts and accepted across a wide range of merchants. Often enabled by tokenization and NFC (tap-to-pay).

▪️ Best for: Cross-merchant usability, & international acceptance

▪️ Apple Pay, Google Pay Developers, PayPal

3️⃣ 𝐒𝐞𝐦𝐢-𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐩 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬

→ Can be used across multiple merchants or services — but only within a pre-approved network. They often include financial services like lending, insurance, or savings.

▪️ Best for: Super apps, ecosystems in emerging markets

▪️ Alipay (China), Paytm (India), GCash (Philippines), M-PESA Africa(Kenya), GrabPay (Southeast Asia), JazzCash (Pakistan)

4️⃣ 𝐏𝐞𝐞𝐫-𝐭𝐨-𝐏𝐞𝐞𝐫 (𝐏2𝐏) 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬

→ Built around social payments and direct transfers, often with embedded social features.

▪️ Best for: Domestic transfers, informal payments, splitting bills

▪️ Venmo, Cash App, Zelle®

5️⃣ 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧 & 𝐖𝐞𝐛3 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬

→ Enable stablecoin-based payments, digital asset storage, and on-chain transactions and bridging traditional and next-gen financial services.

▪️ Best for: DeFi use cases, borderless payments, token economy

▪️ Dfns, MetaMask, Phantom, Trust Wallet

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡

► Digitization of government and financial services

► Expansion of QR and NFC merchant infrastructure

► Growing demand for contactless and cardless payments

► Embedded finance capabilities in mobility, delivery, and social platforms

► Real-time Payment (#RTP) rails and wallet interoperability

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬

► P2P transfers

► Remittances

► Bill payments & recurring subscriptions

► Merchant & QR payments

► Money management & budgeting

► Cash-in / cash-out at agents and ATMs

𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬 are the foundational of today's and tomorrow's financial ecosystem.

Source: Thunes

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