At a workshop held as part of the Generative AI Summit, participants discussed a future in which AI agents make autonomous payments and the potential for payments using stablecoins. Ensuring safety and lowering the barriers to adoption for stores were also identified as challenges.
A future was envisioned in which AI agents could automatically complete purchases and payments on behalf of people, and the use of stablecoins, in addition to card payments, is being considered as a means of payment. The speakers noted that payment infrastructure and security need to be developed to promote the adoption of agent commerce.
At present, it is possible to provide an AI system with card information and have it make payments, but the significant potential risks in the event of a problem were identified as a challenge. The view was expressed that the optimal framework should be determined by organizing payment authorization and testing a range of protocols.
The use of stablecoins was said to offer practical benefits, including micropayments of less than ¥1 and instantaneous settlement of funds held in asset management. Participants shared the view that stablecoins are indispensable for machine-to-machine transactions, and the example of JPYC was also introduced.
Development is under way on intermediary infrastructure to reduce the burden on merchants, and creating systems that allow merchants to receive payment in fiat currency was given priority. Accelerating the resolution of technical challenges and the development of infrastructure is expected to support the deployment of AI agent payments in society.