Europe Leads the Charge in Agentic Commerce

Jan de Vries · 2026-07-07

By Brice van de Walle, Executive Vice President, Core Payments Europe, Mastercard Agentic commerce isn't some far-off idea anymore. Across Europe, it's happening right now. AI has already changed how we shop—it figures out what we want, suggests products we'll love, and hunts down the best deals for our wallets. But until recently, all that smart help stopped cold at the checkout. You still had to pull out your card or click through payment forms yourself. ### The Gap Is Closing Fast Industry leaders across Europe have been working hard to fix that. AI is moving beyond just giving advice. It's now jumping into the transaction itself, becoming an active participant in the purchase. What used to be theoretical stuff about AI buying things is now being tested in real markets. Banks, payment companies, and tech firms are running live pilots. In controlled settings where consumers give clear permission, you can authorize an AI agent to complete a purchase for you using credentials you already trust. No extra fuss, no new passwords to remember. ### Europe's Big Milestones Europe is at the front of this wave. Banks across the continent have already done live agentic transactions using passkeys for authentication. That means when the right pieces are in place—tokenization, strong authentication, and solid consumer consent—AI-powered payments become a real, workable thing. This month, Mastercard teamed up with Worldline and ING to pull off a live end-to-end agentic transaction. Everything in that transaction flow happened within Europe. That's a huge step. It turns readiness into actual merchant capability. Payments started by AI agents can now be processed transparently and responsibly at scale. > "Collaboration across the payments ecosystem—between issuers, acquirers, and payment service providers—will be key to moving agentic commerce from isolated pilots to repeatable models." ### Why Trust Is Everything Each of these milestones builds confidence for consumers, banks, and merchants. But trust remains the real difference-maker. Without it, nobody's going to let an AI handle their money. That's where transparency measures come in. Things like Verifiable Intent ensure every AI-driven transaction can be traced back to explicit authorization. Issuers get clear visibility, and strong governance runs throughout the payment flow. Consumers stay in control, even when they're not clicking the "buy" button themselves. ### Building Shared Standards To keep that trust alive, agentic commerce needs common frameworks that everyone follows. Mastercard is working with partners like the FIDO Alliance and Google to push those standards forward. The goal is simple: make sure every AI-driven interaction is trusted and user-consented. On the technical side, Mastercard has enabled issuers across Europe at a network level for Agent Pay. They're also backing European innovation with the newly announced Lisbon Centre of Excellence for Innovation. That center will speed up the development of next-gen, agent-driven payment experiences. ### What This Means for You Here's the takeaway: Europe is turning agentic commerce from a promise into everyday practice. By prioritizing AI-driven commerce that balances accountability with innovation, the continent is setting the stage for a whole new wave of shopping. - Simpler checkouts without sacrificing security - AI that handles the boring stuff so you don't have to - Full transparency so you always know what's happening with your money It's a future where convenience and control go hand in hand. And Europe is showing the rest of the world how to get there first.