Visa Unveils Plan to Share Your Credit Card Info With AI Agents

Visa -- indeed, the global giant of credit cards —is entering the realm of AI agents.

On Wednesday, the finance monolith announced It would involve collaborating with top developers in the AI sector to integrate its extensive payment networks into their AI systems.

The end game? Letting an autonomous AI model — an agent, in the parlance — control your credit card to make purchases ranging from groceries to clothing on its own, based on your budget and preferences.

"Soon people will have AI agents browse, select, purchase and manage on their behalf," Jack Forestell, Visa's chief product and strategy officer, said in a release . "Just like the shift from physical shopping to online, and from online to mobile, Visa is setting a new standard for a new era of commerce," he added.

Visa refers to this initiative, which they have been developing over the last half-year, as "Visa Intelligent Commerce." The team includes an impressive lineup of AI experts from companies such as OpenAI, Microsoft, Anthropic, Perplexity, and Mistral, alongside prominent figures from technology sectors including IBM, Samsung, and financial service provider Stripe.

Imagine a not-so-distant future where countless individuals depend on artificial intelligence for tasks such as selecting the ideal sweater, exploring new holiday destinations, or completing their shopping lists. In response, Visa announces plans to introduce AI-compatible cards that replace conventional credit card information with "tokenized digital credentials." The company claims this shift will enhance security measures significantly.

"The customer alone has the authority to direct the agent regarding what actions to take and when to initiate a payment credential," the firm stressed. in its release .

Per the Associated Press , Forestell envisions customers using AI agents to tackle everyday tasks such as grocery shopping or complex activities like booking trips. However, he does not believe this will replace other enjoyable shopping experiences, particularly when purchasing high-end items; rather, he sees these AI assistants playing a supporting, advisory part.

Regardless of how AI agents are utilized, this relies on customers placing trust in a technology known for frequent errors and significant security vulnerabilities when handling their confidential financial data. Furthermore, the involvement of AI developers plays a role; they gain access to this crucial credit card information—such as details of previous transactions—with customer permission, which has attracted AI firms to collaborate with Visa.

"Visa can allow users to agree to share streams of their transaction history with us," said Dmitry Shevelenko, Perplexity’s chief business officer. AP When we create a suggestion—like when you ask, ‘What are the top laptops?’—we consider your previous purchases and the preferences they reveal about you.

It's obvious there's blood in the water. Mastercard announced On Tuesday, Mastercard launched its AI agent initiative named "Agent Pay." This project includes collaborations with several partners such as Microsoft, OpenAI, and IBM. Similar to Visa’s offering, the Mastercard AI agent will provide purchase suggestions via conversations and can also execute transactions autonomously.

It remains to be determined how well these AI-credit card collaborations will function in real-world scenarios. Previous demonstrations of AI-powered shopping have not been particularly compelling. People using OpenAI’s “Operator” AI assistant reported that it often takes an unbearably long time when attempting tasks such as purchasing groceries or placing food orders. Additionally, it seems to rely heavily on this method. constantly babysat , requiring a person to input passwords and credit card information, as well as to finalize purchase approvals.

Certainly, that was before Visa became involved. The aim is for their partnership with technology firms to allow the AI agents to handle purchases autonomously, eliminating the need for human intervention.

"AI platforms cannot resolve the payment issue on their own," Forestell stated. AP That's why we began collaborating with them.

More on AI: ChatGPT Is Already Struggling With Product Suggestions

The post Visa Discloses Intentions to Provide AI Access to Credit Card Details appeared first on Romero.my.id .