%201.webp)
Nuvei has completed a live agent-initiated payment with Visa on Visa's network, with multiple European issuers participating.
The purchase was made by a merchant's artificial intelligence agent, without sending the shopper to a separate checkout flow. The proof of concept involved Arvato Systems and fashion brand Kings and Priests, with the agent initiating a product purchase on a shopper's behalf using a tokenised Visa credential.
Nuvei said the transaction was governed by shopper-set controls, including spending limits and approved purchase categories. This kept discovery, purchase authorisation and payment within a first-party merchant agent, rather than moving the customer into a separate payment journey.
Participating issuers included Alpha Bank, Piraeus Bank, Bank Leumi, CAL, MAX and Bank of Cyprus. The payment was settled on live Visa rails through Visa Intelligent Commerce, according to the companies involved.
The move places Nuvei among payment companies trying to define how AI agents will handle transactions for consumers and merchants. Interest in the area has grown as retailers and payment networks test whether AI tools can move beyond product search and recommendations to completing purchases.
Phil Fayer, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Nuvei, described the transaction as a sign of how commerce may develop as AI tools take on a more active role in online buying.
"Agentic commerce is the next evolution of digital commerce, with AI not just finding products but initiating purchases," said Phil Fayer, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Nuvei.
He said the company's approach is focused first on merchant-controlled agents. "This proof of concept starts inside a merchant's own experience and points to where payments are heading: a layer that lets any agent, on any protocol, make a payment," Fayer said.
Merchant focus
Nuvei said merchants have asked for first-party agentic tools before broader access is extended to third-party public agents. That view emerged from discussions with customers and is shaping Nuvei's plans for its agentic payments product.
The strategy centres on what Nuvei calls an execution layer for agentic commerce. In practice, it is designed to let merchants connect once to payment standards used by AI agents, while also managing identity, permission and audit requirements.
One part of the system would support compatibility with different agent protocols, including ACP, AP2 and MCP. Another, called Know Your Agent, would register and credential agents, validate the consumer mandate behind a purchase, score an agent's reputation and keep a record of actions.
Visa said the work builds on tools it already uses in digital payments, including tokenisation and network controls.
"Through Visa Agentic Ready, we are extending existing capabilities - including tokenisation and network-level controls - to enable agent-initiated payments in a trusted and consistent way," said Mathieu Altwegg, Head of Product and Solutions at Visa Europe. "This proof of concept shows how those foundations can support new experiences today, with authentication continuing to evolve as the model scales."
Ecosystem test
For the companies involved, the trial also tested whether different parts of the payments chain could work together when an AI agent, rather than a person, initiates the transaction. That included the merchant technology provider, the card network, the payment platform and issuing banks.
Arvato Systems said the exercise showed that an AI-led purchase could be completed inside the agent while preserving existing controls around trust and visibility.
"This proof of concept shows how the payments ecosystem can enable AI-driven purchasing while preserving trust, control, and transparency," said Carsten Bruning, Vice President of Digital Commerce at Arvato Systems. "With Visa and Nuvei, we validated interoperability across the flow and proved that payment can complete inside the agent rather than on the merchant site."
Kings and Priests said the project offered a direct view of how retail transactions might change if software agents began acting on behalf of shoppers.
"For Kings and Priests, this was a firsthand look at how agentic commerce can open new channels for digital retail," said Ralph Hürlemann, Founder of Kings and Priests. "An AI agent initiating a purchase on a consumer's behalf can reshape how customers discover and buy online."
Nuvei said it is now working with Visa and the issuing partners to move the model towards production. It also outlined a broader commercial plan for agentic payments, including protocol support, agent registry functions, risk scoring and network certifications through its existing merchant platform.
Industry forecasts cited by Nuvei suggest agentic commerce could reach USD $1 trillion in global transaction volume by 2030 and USD $3 trillion to USD $5 trillion by 2035.
"Agentic commerce is a platform problem, not a feature," Fayer said. "Merchants need one place that connects them to every agent, protocol, and network while keeping them in control. The hard part isn't the transaction; it's carrying a verifiable mandate, managing real-world agent risk, and clearing across any rail. We are now building it into the infrastructure we already run for thousands of merchants."