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Visa is taking proactive steps to secure the future of payments in Asia Pacific with the launch of its Intelligent Commerce platform. This initiative aims to address the rising challenge of distinguishing legitimate AI agents from malicious bots amidst the growing surge of AI-driven traffic on retail sites. Targeted for early 2026 pilots, the platform is designed to fortify payment systems against the expected explosion of AI-handled transactions, offering unprecedented speed and volume capabilities through its Agentic Commerce infrastructure.

Central to Visa’s Intelligent Commerce is a suite of integrated APIs encompassing tokenization, authentication, and payment instructions. The platform employs the Trusted Agent Protocol, a system using cryptographic signatures, to rigorously verify the authenticity of AI assistants and their legitimate commerce intent, ensuring valid consumer authorization. This approach prioritizes maintaining consumer visibility and preserving crucial customer relationship data even as AI increasingly mediates transactions.

Visa’s collaborative approach is evident in its partnerships with industry leaders such as Ant International, LG Uplus, Microsoft, Perplexity, Stripe, and Tencent. These collaborations are crucial in developing robust AI commerce infrastructure. The Asia Pacific pilot program is anticipated to play a pivotal role in shaping global standards for agentic commerce, setting a precedent for secure and transparent AI-driven transactions worldwide.