DBS is First Bank in Asia Pacific to Pilot Visa Intelligent Commerce for Everyday Payments
- Inno-Thought Team
- 15 hours ago
- 3 min read
The collaboration validates AI-ready card credentials, authentication and payment signals on Visa Intelligent Commerce, ensuring ecosystem readiness for secure, agent-initiated payments
DBS Bank, Southeast Asia's largest bank and Visa, a global leader in digital payments announced on February 16 their ongoing collaboration to drive the future of agent-initiated payments via a joint pilot under Visa Intelligent Commerce (VIC). VIC brings together a comprehensive suite of integrated APIs and a partner programme, utilising Visa's secure infrastructure to enable safe, transparent and consent-driven payments by AI agents, on behalf of consumers.
Through this collaboration with Visa, DBS is the first issuer in Asia Pacific to advance real-world agentic commerce use cases, marking a significant step in translating agentic commerce from concept to reality, as well as establishing the foundations for safe and scalable adoption across the region.
A Visa commissioned study showed that generative AI chatbots have quickly become mainstream among Singapore consumers, with usage reaching exceptionally high levels. Close to 77% of Singapore residents are already using generative AI tools such as chatbots in their daily lives, signalling rapid adoption across age groups. This momentum is also reflected in online shopping behaviours — with eight in 10 Singapore consumers now relying on AI assistance when shopping online. These insights highlight how deeply integrated AI has become in the digital habits of Singaporeans today.
Building on this momentum, DBS and Visa successfully demonstrated through a series of real-world food and beverage transactions that AI-powered agents can complete everyday tasks on behalf of customers using DBS/POSB credit and debit cards via secure, issuer-controlled flows. The collaboration will now enable DBS and Visa to explore a wider range of agentic commerce transactions, such as online shopping, travel bookings and more. These trials aim to make digital transactions more seamless for consumers, reduce manual steps and streamline payment processes – all while maintaining rigorous controls.
"AI agents are unlocking a new phase in digital payments, where routine transactions can be completed efficiently and reliably, helping customers save time and simplify everyday tasks," said Ananya Sen, Group Head of Regional Consumer Products, DBS Bank. "Our collaboration with Visa shows how agent-led payments can be deployed securely and safely at scale, giving customers confidence in how transactions are made in an AI environment. By building these capabilities across our regional footprint, we are shaping the next generation of cards and payments, setting new standards for intelligent, trusted and seamless commerce."
"This collaboration with DBS marks meaningful progress in advancing ecosystem readiness at a time when agentic commerce is rapidly evolving," said T.R. Ramachandran, Head of Products & Solutions, Asia Pacific at Visa. "Through Visa Intelligent Commerce and Trusted Agent Protocol, we're building the foundation that will make agentic commerce safe, secure and scalable — from AI‑ready credentials to advanced authentication. This sets the stage for how trusted, AI‑powered experiences will come to life for consumers and partners across the region."
As the collaboration progresses, DBS is strengthening its readiness for agent-led commerce by validating AI‑ready credentials[1], advanced authentication and intent‑driven transaction controls. With Visa Intelligent Commerce, the collaboration is shaping a framework where trust, accountability and customer choice are built into every transaction. This approach positions DBS and Visa to help define how agentic commerce can scale responsibly across the region, balancing innovation with resilience, as well as convenience with confidence.
[1] AI‑ready credentials are secure, tokenised card details that trusted AI agents can use to make purchases safely on cardholders' behalf, protected by Visa's authentication checks, intent‑driven safeguards and issuer‑managed permissions
