The global payment market is experiencing a shift in competition. Traditionally, card payments involved consumers navigating apps or online stores to find products and compare benefits before selecting a card at checkout. However, with the rise of generative AI, experts predict a new model where AI will understand consumer preferences and facilitate everything from product discovery to recommendations and payments.
This trend is referred to as 'Agent Pay.' Instead of customers clicking through multiple screens, an AI agent will assist users at the front end of the payment process and, if necessary, complete the transaction.
In an interview with Aju Economy, Lee Cheong-jae, Chief of the AI Center at KB Kookmin Card, stated, "The card payment market is expected to see significant changes with the emergence of new payment environments such as stablecoins and Agent Pay. Companies that can quickly adopt and provide various payment protocols based on Agent Pay in the standardization process will secure a competitive edge."
This indicates a shift in the payment environment from a model where customers click through multiple screens to one where AI agents facilitate the entire process from exploration to recommendation to payment.
Below are excerpts from the interview with Lee:
- What does it mean for payments to shift from 'clicks' to AI agents?
"Currently, users find products directly on apps or websites, compare benefits, and move to the checkout page to complete their purchases. However, in the future, it may be more important for an AI agent to handle everything seamlessly rather than users clicking through multiple screens. For example, a shopping agent could search for and recommend products, then process the payment all within a chat interface. This represents the payment model of the AI era, or Agent Pay, where exploration, recommendations, and payments occur in a single flow rather than through multiple clicks."
- What is your view on digital asset payments like stablecoins?
"The global stablecoin market has grown to around $300 billion. For it to transition into actual services in the financial sector, legal and regulatory frameworks, as well as consumer protection measures, must be established first. Issues such as anti-money laundering, price stability, and accountability also need to be addressed. KB Kookmin Card is exploring a hybrid payment model that connects digital assets with card payment infrastructure. We have begun patent applications for hybrid payment technologies linked to digital assets and are collaborating with companies like Avalanche, OpenAsset, Solana, and AhnLab Blockchain Company to assess the applicability of payment models across various infrastructure environments. This is not about launching specific services but rather preparing for technological possibilities in response to regulatory and market changes."
- In what areas will AI agents change customer experience?
"Customer expectations are already set by services like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. It is challenging to exceed these experiences. However, there are areas where we can improve customer experience behind the scenes. Customer service is a prime example. Utilizing AI agents in customer service can reduce response times and enhance the quality and satisfaction of answers. In digital channels like KB Pay, we can strengthen personalized recommendations. We can suggest cards and expected benefits based on consumer patterns, and in the future, we can explain the rationale behind recommendations using generative AI. In the U.S., AI agents have facilitated 176 million transactions worth a total of $730 million over the past year."
- To respond to an AI agent-based payment environment, it seems card companies will need to change their internal systems.
"For AI agents to connect exploration, recommendations, and payments, internal work agents must also function together. Connecting and coordinating various agents for customer service, operational manuals, data inquiries and analysis, and marketing support within a unified system ultimately creates a super agent. The key is not just to create many agents but to manage them effectively so they operate well within actual workflows and payment processes. KB Kookmin Card, as well as KB Financial Group, is considering how to connect and operate agents across its subsidiaries."
- The financial sector faces strict security regulations regarding network separation and personal data protection. How can security and AI utilization coexist?
"The financial sector's network separation and data usage restrictions make it difficult to use generative AI as freely as in other industries. From an external perspective, designing infrastructure that enables practical use within regulatory environments is much more challenging than model development. However, a completely closed environment that restricts everything could become a vulnerability in the long run. It is similar to how a person who remains in an overly sterile environment becomes more susceptible to infections. We need to enhance our responsiveness by finding ways to maintain security while increasing usability. Building a structure that allows for both security and usability at the enterprise AX infrastructure level and accumulating operational experience within that framework is key to financial AI innovation."
- Where do you see the future competitiveness of card companies lying?
"I believe it depends on how quickly we can transition to a structure that designs operations and services based on AI. The payment environment may shift to stablecoins and Agent Pay, and customer interactions may increasingly center around AI agents. To respond to these changes, it is not enough to simply create a new service. For AI agents to recommend products that suit customers and facilitate payments, customer data, product information, benefit structures, payment APIs, and internal operational systems must be interconnected. Ultimately, companies that proactively build an AX foundation that connects data, APIs, operational processes, and security systems will secure competitiveness in the evolving payment market."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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