Mastercard has introduced Australia’s first authenticated agentic transactions through its Agent Pay program. This development marks a significant step in the evolution of AI-powered commerce, where artificial intelligence agents act on behalf of consumers to shop, manage subscriptions, and complete various tasks.
The concept of agentic commerce is gaining traction, with research suggesting that AI-powered transactions could influence 55% of Australian consumer transactions by 2030, potentially amounting to A$670 billion. Mastercard’s Agent Pay framework aims to ensure secure, transparent, and trusted transactions by integrating AI agents into the payment flow.
The inaugural Agent Pay transactions in Australia involved the use of a Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) debit card for purchasing cinema tickets and a Westpac credit card for booking accommodation. These transactions were processed through IPSI and utilised Maincode’s large language model, Matilda.
Paul Monnington, Division President, Australasia, Mastercard, highlighted the significance of this shift, stating, “Agentic commerce represents one of the most profound shifts in consumer behaviour we’ve seen in decades.”
Mastercard is also establishing a regional AI Centre of Excellence and deploying agentic commerce teams across the Asia Pacific region. This move is part of a broader strategy to expand the reach and capabilities of agentic commerce.
Monica Wegner, Executive General Manager Everyday Banking, commented on the collaborative efforts, “As Australians explore more AI-powered ways to shop and pay, we’re proud to be participating in early, controlled trials with Mastercard to help shape secure and transparent agentic payment standards across the Ecosystem.”
The adoption of AI assistants for online shopping is already notable, with nearly half of Australians having used such tools. Furthermore, 78% of consumers expect these tools to become mainstream in the near future.
Carolyn McCann, Chief Executive of Consumer at Westpac, emphasised the importance of seamless payment experiences, stating, “Payments play an important role in our customers’ everyday lives, and giving our customers seamless, secure and simple ways to pay is a priority for us. Agent Pay will make those moments quicker and easier for our customers.”
Mastercard’s Agent Pay has already been launched in the United States and piloted in the UAE and Latin America, indicating a global push for this technology.
Lukas Wesemann from Maincode highlighted the collaborative nature of the initiative, saying, “The partnership with Mastercard grew out of a shared commitment to ‘doing the hard thing’ when it comes to figuring out how to tie AI, agents and payments together. Maincode’s hardware, software and design can deliver real results in boosting customer experience and increasing efficiency – especially for payments. We’re already starting to push what’s possible for AI in Australia, building and testing models that could help define the next wave of innovation. We’re excited to help shape how agent-driven transactions evolve from early experimenting into real-world adoption.”
According to Andrew Turner, Group General Manager Technology and Digital Transformation at EVT, “Agent-powered commerce could fundamentally change how our guests engage with their favourite EVT experiences in the future, and we’re excited to be at the forefront of that with Mastercard.”
Jarren Baker, Head of Product at IPSI, meanwhile noted the opportunities unlocked by this technology, saying, “Delivering safe, secure and seamless payment experiences to consumers is now, more than ever, front-of-mind for all of us. By leveraging the near limitless capabilities of Agentic AI, and coupling it with secure payment processing, Mastercard have unlocked a wealth of opportunity for consumers and merchants alike. As a leader in orchestrated, seamless payment technology and innovation in Australia for 20 years, we are proud to have continued our collaboration with Mastercard and its partners on this endeavour.”