HSBC UK and Visa test card payments initiated by AI shopping agents

HSBC UK is working with Visa on AI-enabled shopping tools that would let customers use their cards through agentic commerce systems, the companies said. HSBC UK said one of its cards has recently been used to initiate an end-to-end agentic transaction on a live merchant website, a test it described as among the first of its kind in the industry.

The project is aimed at allowing cardholders to shop and pay through AI platforms without moving between multiple merchant sites, according to HSBC UK. The bank said the approach could be used for routine consumer purchases and services, including travel bookings, household goods and product searches.

Agentic commerce refers to transactions in which an AI system can act on a customer’s instructions, such as identifying a product or service and starting the payment process. In payments, that requires controls around consent, authentication and transaction visibility, because the customer is delegating part of the shopping journey to software rather than entering each step manually on a merchant website.

HSBC UK said customers would remain in control of the process through permissions and safeguards. The bank said its work with Visa and other industry partners includes technology and security measures that allow payments to be authenticated securely, including through customer biometrics.

Andy Rankin, chief payments officer for consumer banking at HSBC UK, said artificial intelligence could make routine shopping “simpler, faster and more convenient” for customers. Rankin said HSBC UK was working with partners to build AI-powered commerce while ensuring customers retain control over their money.

Rankin added that customers need confidence that payments remain protected as new technologies emerge. He said the bank was working with Visa to develop trusted experiences that could support consumer use of AI in shopping.

Visa said its role is to connect issuers, merchants and AI systems through its network while maintaining existing protections. Rob Cameron, Visa’s group country manager for the UK and Ireland, said AI agents are starting to initiate transactions in real-world settings, and that Visa’s role is to keep transactions “secure, transparent and trusted.”

The initiative sits within a broader push by banks, card networks and technology companies to adapt payment infrastructure for AI-mediated purchasing. For issuers such as HSBC UK, the central question is how to preserve established card controls, including authentication and customer authorization, while allowing AI services to carry out more of the shopping workflow on behalf of the user.

HSBC UK did not give a launch date for customer availability or name the merchant website used in the live test. The bank said the work marks another step toward payment experiences designed to help customers manage financial tasks while maintaining security, transparency and control.

This story draws on original reporting from Finextra Research.