Matrix partner Matt Brown said agentic payments are coming faster and more broadly than almost any other fintech development he’s seen. For nearly 50 years, the early-stage venture capital firm has worked with startups from seed through Series A, shepherding some of the biggest concepts to fruition.
As with every trend, many companies have started to service some stage of agentic payments. That’s the norm. What’s unique is that the big players aren’t waiting to see how agentic payments mature before cautiously entering the fray – they’re in deep from the start.
Brown said there are many points in the payments experience where agents clearly provide value. That, and a strong AI awareness, has both startups and established firms developing solutions
“You ask 10 people to define agentic payments, and you get 10 different answers,” Brown said. “It’s a sign of the opportunity out there.”
With agentic payments, this awareness and strong consensus on opportunity have shrunk timelines. Brown sees the topic dominating board agendas and product roadmaps. Perhaps it’s because of the broader AI hype, but customer demand is strong. That pressures companies into a response.
The biggest agentic opportunity is in B2B
Brown believes we’re further away from agents having significant access to facilitate largely independent consumer spending. What is imminent, though, is agents simplifying workflows, especially in B2B payments.
“Why is Ramp a $40 billion company?” Brown asked. “Not because getting a debit or charge card for your business is hard. It’s because all the spend controls and all the stuff upstream… that’s the valuable stuff. They’re doing interesting things around the money movement, but it’s everything around and preceding the transaction that you’re seeing around agentic payments.”
How agentic payments will be facilitated remains up in the air. Brown suggests that stablecoins, perhaps even an agentic-specific one, will play a role, but traditional card rails will too. However, the opportunities come upstream where an agent is directed to shop for specific items. How are trust and identity facilitated? How are disputes resolved? How will workflows be made efficient?
Trust will likely involve some centralization, as agentic preferences are stored and card brands are assessed. There are benefits to providers and consumers knowing that both parties are using agents and are okay with it. Solutions to prevent chargeback abuse must be developed.
Issues with agentic fraud
That’s why Visa and Mastercard charge that 2.9% – it mitigates fraud and lowers risk. If OpenAI can vouch for a consumer and Shopify can do the same for its merchant, traditional card rails aren’t likely needed.
But Brown cautions against betting against those traditional systems, as they’ve adapted for decades to remain relevant through multiple trends. Why reinvent the wheel? There’s room for both.
Given that some existing problems, like invoice fraud, haven’t been fully addressed, Brown said he is, in some ways, surprised by how quickly large companies are preparing for and investing in an agentic fraud problem that does not yet exist.
“It’s a sign of how aware these folks are of the wave of agentic payments coming,” Brown said.
There’s also a blind spot in the interaction between stablecoin payment settlement and agentic payments that Brown said is both good and bad. Once the payment is made, it can’t be pulled back.
So many topics remain to be solved.
Brown sees B2B payments as an underappreciated opportunity and believes it will develop faster than the consumer side. While there is still risk, it’s lower and different from consumer payments.
Companies are often known entities with established digital trails. They must complete many routine processes that agents can easily address.
Agentic B2B payments also provide many value-added opportunities, such as organizing payments around due dates, processing, and supplier negotiations.
“B2B payments are surprisingly large, surprisingly complex, and surprisingly less risky in a lot of ways,” Brown said. “The workflows around them are such a richer opportunity for what AI is already good at.”
Looking ahead
The entire consumer buying experience raises such interesting questions. What happens when a business has its agent negotiate with your agent? How does the company factor seasonal trends and stock levels into its negotiating strategy?
Brown looks forward to seeing developments as consumers become familiarized with agents. They can clearly assist with budgeting and analysis, but there are also opportunities to dispute payments and even complain to regulators and the companies themselves about spam calls.
“When consumers have more information and power data, I think merchants are going to have to step up their game and provide better services,” Brown said. “What does it do for consumers to have more power over things they don’t like? I think that’s pretty interesting and will be a good bet for society.”