U.S. Payments Forum Snapshot highlights AI, tokenization, stablecoins

The U.S. Payments Forum released its summer market snapshot, an overview of emerging trends drawn from its recent Summer Education Series. The virtual gathering brought together hundreds of industry stakeholders to examine technologies shaping the payments landscape, including agentic commerce, tokenization and stablecoins, as well as pressing concerns around fraud and interoperability.

AI agents enter the payments arena

A central theme of the event was "agentic commerce," in which artificial intelligence agents initiate or assist with transactions. What was once a futuristic concept is moving into early implementation, with one speaker projecting that nearly 20 percent of all ecommerce tasks will involve AI assistance by the end of 2025.

Visa representatives described autonomous commerce scenarios, such as AI agents booking flights when prices meet user-defined thresholds. Speakers emphasized the need for clear user consent, seamless interoperability between networks and robust data sharing to make such systems viable.

Fraud prevention was flagged as a key challenge, as risk tools must learn to distinguish between authorized AI agents and malicious bots. Tokenization may play a role here, providing traceability that clarifies consumer intent, the forum found.

Tokenization becomes a growth engine?

Once primarily viewed as a security safeguard, tokenization is increasingly seen as an enabler of innovation. By replacing card numbers with unique digital identifiers, tokenization protects account data while improving transaction efficiency. Mastercard reported merchants using network tokenization achieved a three to six percent lift in approval rates, while Bank of America highlighted tokenization's role in keeping card-on-file details up to date for recurring services.

Despite these benefits, barriers remain. Legacy merchant systems still depend on 16-digit primary account numbers, and many consumers misunderstand how tokens work, often demanding new cards after fraud incidents even when tokenization renders that unnecessary. To bridge these gaps, forum members pointed to solutions like Payment Account Reference, which links multiple tokens and reissued cards to the same account.

Stablecoins and regulation take center stage?

Stablecoins also featured prominently, bolstered by regulatory clarity from the recently introduced GENIUS Act. The legislation creates separate pathways for bank and non-bank issuers, a move expected to accelerate stablecoin adoption.

Industry pilot programs are already testing stablecoin settlement over blockchain, offering 24/7 processing and reduced credit risk. Cross-border transactions are viewed as the most compelling consumer use case, especially in markets where card penetration is limited.

Yet speakers warned that stablecoins' open networks invite fraud, with phishing and investment scams at the forefront. Future fraud prevention, they predicted, may shift from Know Your Customer (KYC) toward Know Your Transaction (KYT) models.

Merchants and issuers weigh in?

The forum's Joint Merchant & Issuer Special Interest Group addressed evolving chargeback rules, dispute timelines, and the value of sharing device and network data to cut false declines. Fraud risks tied to manual token provisioning were also discussed, with speakers advocating for safer alternatives like NFC or bank-app provisioning. ?The forum continues to coordinate cross-industry projects, from exploring quantum computing threats to refining payment standards for electric vehicles. Recent educational resources include white papers on securing mobile payments, contextual commerce with AI and IoT, and strategies for automated EMV testing.

As the U.S. payments ecosystem prepares for rapid technological shifts, the U.S. Payments Forum's role as a collaborative hub is likely to become even more critical in balancing innovation, security and consumer trust.

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