Visa deepens AI commerce push with OpenAI payments and stablecoin settlement expansion

Visa has unveiled a major expansion of its AI commerce and stablecoin infrastructure strategy, including a new OpenAI partnership, agent verification systems, and broader blockchain settlement capabilities designed to support autonomous digital transactions.

The announcement came during Visa Payments Forum 2026, where the company outlined new products focused on what it described as the next generation of “intelligent, programmable commerce.”

Visa said artificial intelligence is transforming how transactions are initiated, while stablecoins and tokenized money are reshaping how payments settle behind the scenes.

AI is transforming the front end of commerce. Stablecoins are reshaping the back end, 

said Visa Chief Product and Strategy Officer Jack Forestell.

The announcement follows Mastercard’s own push into agentic commerce infrastructure, highlighting a growing race among major payment networks to position themselves as foundational infrastructure providers for AI-driven commerce systems.

Visa builds identity infrastructure for AI agents

One of the most significant parts of the announcement involved new verification systems designed for AI-powered transactions.

Visa introduced an “Agentic Directory,” a system that verifies both merchants and AI agents participating in automated commerce environments.

The company said the infrastructure is designed to help merchants determine whether AI agents interacting with their websites are legitimate. Also, it allows agents to verify merchants before completing transactions.

Visa also launched “Agent Score,” a tool developed with New Generation that evaluates whether merchant websites are optimized for agentic commerce.

OpenAI partnership expands agentic commerce ambitions

Visa additionally revealed a strategic partnership with OpenAI focused on enabling secure payments inside AI-driven commerce experiences.

According to the company, Visa will provide payment credentials, security systems, and network infrastructure. These are designed to support AI-initiated transactions across OpenAI environments.

The company also demonstrated a proof-of-concept allowing AI agents to pay for digital services directly from command-line environments using Visa tokenized credentials.

The announcement suggests major payment providers are increasingly preparing for a future where AI systems act more autonomously on behalf of consumers and businesses.

Stablecoins move deeper into Visa infrastructure

Visa also disclosed new progress across its blockchain settlement operations.

The company said stablecoin settlement volume processed through VisaNet has reached an annualized run rate of roughly $7 billion as of March 2026.

Visa is also expanding seven-day stablecoin settlement capabilities across more banks, acquirers, blockchains, and currencies.

Additionally, the company announced plans to support tokenized bank deposits. This allows financial institutions to create programmable digital money while keeping deposits on their balance sheets.

Visa said more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs are now live or in development globally.

Final Summary

• Visa expanded its AI-commerce infrastructure through new OpenAI integrations, agent verification systems, and tokenized payment tools.
• The company also said its stablecoin settlement operations now process transactions at an annualized run rate of roughly $7bn.