EMVCo – the technical body that creates and manages EMV® Specifications and programs that enable card-based payments– announced that it is working on how global specifications can support tech advancements and product development in agentic payment solutions by increasing interoperability across the ecosystem.
Agentic commerce is reshaping “the shopping experience by enabling AI agents to act on the consumer’s behalf.”
This is driving significant momentum for agentic payments, which introduce AI agents as “actors that can initiate transactions with merchants – without requiring direct involvement from the consumer.”
While agentic payments have the potential to increase convenience and personalisation, they present “considerations for how transactions are initiated, authenticated and secured.”
As industry adoption accelerates, “a globally interoperable and scalable approach may be beneficial in realising agentic payments for consumers, merchants and issuers.”
In response to this, EMVCo is working on how EMV Specifications – “including EMV 3-D Secure (3DS), EMV Payment Tokenisation and EMV Secure Remote Commerce (SRC) – can be developed and enhanced to promote seamless and secure card-based agentic payments.”
Patrik Smets, EMVCo Executive Committee Chair, comments that they have developed the specifications that enable card-based payments for billions of consumers and businesses.
Smets added that there is now an opportunity to “collaborate with participants across the industry to extend this experience to support agentic payment solutions.”
EMVCo is said to be engaging with the stakeholders that “contribute their knowledge and expertise to the development of EMV Specifications as EMVCo Associates and Subscribers.”
EMVCo is also liaising with global technical bodies and associations “to identify and evaluate opportunities for collaboration.”
All interested stakeholders are encouraged to “explore ways to participate in EMVCo and share input on the strategic considerations and technical advances shaping agentic commerce and payments.”
As noted in the update, EMVCo creates and “manages EMV Specifications and programs that enable card-based payments for businesses and consumers worldwide.”
EMV Specifications support technologies such as EMV Contact Chip, EMV Contactless Chip, EMV Mobile, EMV QR Codes, EMV Secure Remote Commerce (SRC), EMV 3-D Secure (3DS) and EMV Payment Tokenisation and are “used by the payments industry to develop products and services that deliver in-store, online and remote card-based payments.”
As a technical body, EMVCo is reportedly owned by American Express, Discover, JCB, Mastercard, UnionPay and Visa.
Payments stakeholders, such as merchants, banks and tech providers, take part as EMVCo Associates and Subscribers in order to develop, evolve and enhance flexible EMV Specifications that “support innovation and address marketplace needs.”