NatWest Group has confirmed it will collaborate with five major global banks to publish a set of joint principles for trusted agentic commerce, a move that could reshape how consumers and businesses use AI to choose and pay for products and services.
The six participating institutions are NatWest Group, ASB Bank, Bank of America, Capital One, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and ING Group. Together, they have produced a framework designed to establish clear foundations for a future where AI agents play a greater role in payment decisions and transactions.
Why the banks are acting now
The banks say agentic commerce is poised to reshape the future of payments. With banks sitting at the heart of the payments ecosystem, connecting consumers, businesses and merchants, and supporting millions of payment interactions every day, the firms have teamed up to produce principles for the future development of this emerging technology.
The joint principles focus on five areas: transparency, safety, privacy and data, choice and interoperability. Together, these provide a foundation for further discussion on agentic commerce, according to the banks.
NatWest's position on customer trust
Mark Brant, Chief Payments Officer at NatWest Group, which has branches in Birmingham, said: "Agentic commerce has the potential to make everyday tasks simpler for customers and businesses, helping people find, buy and pay for what they need more quickly and efficiently. But for that potential to be realised, customers need to trust that they remain in control of how payments are made and that their money is safe."
Brant added: "As this technology begins to emerge in the UK, it's important that the industry works together to establish clear and consistent foundations. By collaborating with other leading banks, we're helping to shape an approach that puts transparency, security and customer choice at its heart. These principles are designed to support innovation while helping customers and businesses use new services with confidence as the technology evolves."
Global perspectives on the framework
Jonathan Oram, Executive General Manager Corporate Banking & Payments at ASB Bank, said: "Agentic commerce has the potential to transform how people and businesses interact with the economy, but its success will ultimately depend on the strength of the underlying payments infrastructure. New Zealand is already undertaking significant payments modernisation, and we see a clear opportunity to ensure new AI-enabled payment experiences are built on trusted foundations that support customer control, competition, security and interoperability from day one."
Mark Monaco, Head of Global Payments Solutions at Bank of America, said: "As agentic commerce continues to evolve, establishing trust and confidence across the ecosystem will be critical to its long-term success. Building confidence among consumers, merchants and financial institutions will require thoughtful approaches to identity, authorization, fraud prevention, liability management and customer protection. We look forward to collaborating across the payments ecosystem to help establish common principles and standards that support innovation while protecting participants and fostering broader adoption."
The publication of these principles marks an early step in shaping how AI agents might be integrated into payment systems, with the six banks aiming to provide a common foundation for future industry-wide discussions on agentic commerce.
