Mastercard has completed its first live authenticated “agentic” payment transaction in Singapore, a test that shows how artificial intelligence (AI) agents could begin executing everyday purchases on behalf of consumers.
Conducted with DBS Bank and United Overseas Bank (UOB), the transaction involved an AI agent booking a ride to Singapore’s Changi Airport through mobility provider hoppa. The system used tokenised credentials and Mastercard Payment Passkeys to authenticate the purchase and verify the consumer’s identity.
The demonstration was powered by Mastercard’s Agent Pay platform, which is designed to allow AI agents to initiate payments securely once user consent is confirmed. In the pilot, an AI agent developed by CardInfoLink connected to hoppa’s taxi and airport limousine network to complete the booking.
According to Mastercard, the move reflects growing interest across the payments industry in so-called “agentic commerce,” where AI systems handle tasks such as booking services or purchasing goods automatically.
“As the nation advances its AI agenda, Mastercard’s first live agentic transaction shows how innovation can be brought into everyday services responsibly and securely with Agent Pay. Together with like-minded partners like DBS and UOB, Mastercard is supporting the vision for AI-powered commerce by building trusted foundations,” says Minsook Cho, Mastercard’s country manager for Singapore.
UOB describes the partnership as an early framework for how banks could support AI-driven payments. “Our partnership with Mastercard reflects our proactive approach to consumer trends, delivering innovative, secure, and seamless AI-powered banking experiences,” says Pratik Bhattacharjee, head of group cards and payment products at UOB.
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Meanwhile, DBS says autonomous transactions will require strong safeguards as payments become more automated. “We view agentic commerce as an important development in the future of payments, especially in an AI-enabled economy. As transactions become increasingly autonomous, robust safeguards, transparency and customer authorisation are paramount,” says Ananya Sen, the bank’s group head of regional consumer products.
The Singapore pilot builds on earlier authenticated agentic transactions Mastercard conducted in Australia, New Zealand and India.
The company said it plans to expand such use cases across transportation, travel, entertainment and retail as it develops an AI centre of excellence in Singapore and builds deeper collaborations with leading large language model providers and AI agents across Asia Pacific.
