Mastercard is positioning itself for a future in which payments happen largely in the background, using tokenisation and artificial intelligence (AI) agents to make everyday transactions more seamless.
The company imagines a system where consumers rarely need to manually enter payment information, much like how a Grab ride automatically charges a linked card or e-wallet. Matthew Driver, Mastercard’s executive vice president for Services in Asia-Pacific, said this approach depends as much on consumer confidence as on technology.
He said Mastercard’s role is to ensure systems can work together while capitalising on the trust associated with its brand. When trust is established, payments become almost invisible, he noted. In the case of Grab, users receive confirmations and authentication prompts before, during and after a transaction, providing transparency and reassurance.
According to Driver, tokenisation and real-time fraud monitoring form the digital backbone of this model, which Mastercard aims to keep continuously available.
However, fragmentation remains a major challenge. The rapid growth of new payment rails, fintech players and digital assets such as stablecoins has increased the number of transaction options, adding complexity for both consumers and providers.
To address this, companies are relying more on partnerships to preserve interoperability. Driver said connecting account-to-account rails, card networks, QR payments and tokenised assets will be essential. Collaborations that combine complementary technologies can deliver stronger solutions for specific customer segments, he added.
Payments are increasingly becoming a mix of digital and smart assets that require open systems to operate across platforms and borders. Mastercard’s objective is to link these systems while maintaining user consent and interoperability.
One key area of development is agentic payments, where AI agents execute transactions on behalf of users. Mastercard has launched Agent Pay, which embeds generative AI into payment functions on conversational platforms. Transactions are monitored using tokens and other safeguards to ensure traceability and accountability if disputes arise.
Over time, AI agents could manage more complex tasks, such as booking flights and hotels, though widespread adoption will depend on reliability and user trust. Driver said strong authentication and security will be critical in making consumers comfortable with this model.
Ultimately, the main challenge is safeguarding consumers across a growing range of payment channels. While the technology is promising, Driver emphasised that ensuring end-to-end consumer protection remains the hardest part of building this ecosystem.
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