Merchant acquiring and SME agentic commerce
Merchant customers increasingly need to recognize agent purchasers, accept trusted transactions and handle refunds, returns and reconciliation.
Executive question
What services will our merchant customers expect us to offer?
What to measure
- Agent acceptance and authorization rates
- Merchant dispute and return cost
- Agent-attributed merchant volumes (only when observed)
Relevant products and standards
Mastercard's agentic payments program using Agentic Tokens. Announced Apr 2025; enabled for US cardholders by late 2025; live test transactions with 17 Latin American issuers and processors (Mar 2026).
Agent Ready lets Braintree merchants accept payments from AI shopping assistants in ChatGPT (via ACP) and Google AI Mode and Gemini (via UCP).
Shopify's UCP endpoints let agents authenticate, search catalogs, build carts and checkouts, and track orders via the Universal Commerce Protocol.
Visa's program for agent-initiated card payments: agent tokens, the Trusted Agent Protocol and the Agentic Ready issuer program. Live in the US and Europe; expanding in Asia-Pacific and Latin America.
Relevant examples, not documented integrations, completeness, certification or endorsement. Listed alphabetically.
Evidence and current limits
Merchant and banking activity are linked; no assumed e-commerce ownership by banks.
Research candidate — reviewer approval required