TLDR: Visa is significantly expanding its ‘Intelligent Commerce’ initiative across the Asia Pacific region, aiming to establish a secure and transparent ecosystem for ‘agentic commerce,’ where AI-powered agents conduct transactions on behalf of consumers. The company plans to launch pilot programs by early 2026, building on a surge in AI-driven retail traffic and positive consumer experiences. This move involves new security protocols, integrated APIs, and strategic partnerships to foster trust and redefine digital payment experiences.
Singapore, November 12, 2025 – Visa, a global leader in digital payments, today announced a major expansion of its ‘Intelligent Commerce’ platform across Asia Pacific, marking a significant step towards the widespread adoption of ‘agentic commerce.’ This new paradigm envisions AI-powered agents seamlessly shopping and making payments on behalf of consumers, a shift Visa is actively preparing for with planned pilot programs by early 2026.
The ‘Visa Intelligent Commerce’ initiative is a comprehensive suite of integrated APIs and a robust partner program, designed to leverage Visa’s secure infrastructure. It aims to facilitate safe, transparent, and consent-driven payments executed by AI agents. Key features include advanced tokenization, stringent authentication processes, clear payment instructions, and sophisticated transaction signals. These elements are crucial for enabling AI agents to operate securely and transparently, thereby empowering consumers to confidently engage in AI-driven commerce interactions for tasks such as booking travel or purchasing event tickets.
The strategic expansion comes at a time of rapid growth in AI’s influence on retail. Over the past year, AI-driven traffic to retail websites has seen an astounding surge of over 4,700%. Furthermore, data indicates that 85% of shoppers who have utilized AI for their purchases reported an improved shopping experience. Visa is proactively enhancing its infrastructure, standards, and capabilities to support this evolving landscape, creating new opportunities for consumers throughout Asia Pacific. Soon, AI agents integrated into popular platforms will be able to process transactions using Visa’s extensive network of 4.8 billion credentials at millions of merchant locations worldwide.
T.R. Ramachandran, Head of Products and Solutions, Asia Pacific, Visa, emphasized the transformative nature of this shift, stating, “Agentic commerce is transforming the very fabric of online payment transactions, requiring a unified ecosystem to unlock its full potential. With Visa Intelligent Commerce and its cornerstone, Trusted Agent Protocol, Visa is connecting consumers, AI agents and merchants through secure, scalable solutions. This ensures every interaction is verified and transparent, empowering all parties of the purchase to embrace this future with confidence.”
A critical component of this strategy is the ‘Trusted Agent Protocol,’ which allows merchants to verify the identity of AI agents and differentiate legitimate transactions from fraudulent ones. This protocol utilizes cryptographic signatures, enabling merchants to confirm an agent’s identity and maintain visibility of the consumer behind each purchase. Its open, low-code design facilitates easy integration with minimal modifications, providing merchants with confidence in managing AI-driven transactions.
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Visa is actively collaborating with a diverse group of partners to advance AI commerce adoption, including prominent names such as Ant International, LG Uplus, Microsoft, Perplexity, Stripe, and Tencent. The company plans to showcase Visa Intelligent Commerce at the Singapore Fintech Festival from November 12-14, 2025, highlighting its vision for future-ready payment experiences.
