Article Two of Two
Payment cards such as Visa, Mastercard and Amex have made electronic authorisation ubiquitous, but AI agents change the commercial problem. As software begins negotiating, purchasing and settling on behalf of people and businesses, then payment approval becomes only one part of a wider agreement where intelligent contracts may combine identity, authority, tax, insurance and programmable settlement inside a broader commerce architecture. Innovation in payments - from credit cards, electronic banking, faster payments, mobile wallets, tokenised deposits and stablecoins - largely pursued a single objective: move value more efficiently. The BIS has analysed how new forms of digital money are reshaping market infrastructure whilst the Bank of England has highlighted the implications of AI and programmable payments. Yet payment has never been the whole transaction. Even before money changes hands, parties establish identity, authority, obligations, tax, insurance and the co…
