Mastercard has given its blessing to AI agents performing transactions on behalf of its users with the recent rollout of authenticated agentic transactions across ASEAN markets. The payment service provider also announced plans to establish a regional AI Centre of Excellence in Singapore, as part of its efforts to support AI-initiated payment systems in the region.
Mastercard Opens Up Transactions For AI Agents
The latest move effectively opens the gate for personal AI assistants (or in 2026’s language, “AI Agents”) to complete a purchase all without the user doing anything outside of giving it the green light. Singapore and Malaysia are the first two regions to enable agentic transactions, with more regions in ASEAN to follow. Mastercard collaborated with UOB for regional testing and also worked with local banks to support implementation in individual markets.
The authenticated agentic transaction system is built on “tokenized credentials, verifiable intent and end-to-end auditability,” with Google involved in the development of Verifiable Intent framework that provides a “tamper-resistant” record of user-approved actions, which can be reliably verified by merchants and issuers. In other words, payments should remain secure even with AI agents entering the equation.
Mastercard also stated that it will launch an AI Centre of Excellence in Singapore later in 2026, which will combine its existing innovation, cybersecurity and AI capabilities to form the “largest innovation space” in the Asia-Pacific region. Prior to this, the company has already tapped into AI for fraud detection, cybersecurity and real‑time risk management for more than a decade.
Pokdepinion: Will we see more AI-made transactions in the future?
