Online: The emergence of Payment Agents and the Ultimate Checkout Experience
Anna Maj (Bridge), Björn Bryngelson (Klarna) & Pasi Ilola (Starcart)
Agentic AI transforms payments and e-commerce by enabling AI agents to autonomously search, compare prices, and purchase items across multiple online stores using virtual cards, streamlining consumer experience and driving orders to merchants without traditional marketing. This revolution challenges merchant uniqueness, SEO strategies, and backend logistics while raising complex regulatory and technical issues, such as fragmented web interfaces and data standards. The future blends consumer convenience with merchant optimization, requiring balanced regulation, AI assistant optimization, and enhanced trust, heralding a paradigm shift beyond conventional online shopping methods.
"Agentic AI is the biggest shift in commerce in decades, where AI agents handle everyday shopping needs for you, saving time and making purchasing feel like magic."
Summary
- Agentic AI enables AI agents to shop and pay on behalf of consumers, simplifying and speeding up online purchases. - Merchants face challenges with AI agents focusing on best price, making uniqueness and user trust critical. - AI can boost merchant sales by automating orders without extra marketing efforts, acting as consumer agents. - The shift from search engines to AI assistants will transform product discovery and e-commerce marketing strategies. - Key challenges include regulatory frameworks, technical complexities of integrating with many stores, and optimizing user experience.
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AI payment agents poised to revolutionise e-commerce, experts tell Nordic Fintech Summit
Industry leaders warn of seismic shift in how consumers discover and purchase products online
The rise of AI shopping agents that can autonomously search, compare and purchase items across multiple online stores represents "the biggest opportunity since the dawn of e-commerce in the nineties," industry experts told attendees at the Nordic Fintech Summit yesterday.
Speaking at a dedicated session on payment agents and AI-driven commerce, Pasi Ilola from Star Cart, Björn Bryngelson from Klarna, and Anna Maj from Bridge outlined how this emerging technology is set to transform both consumer experience and merchant operations.
From smooth transactions to autonomous shopping
"Payments have evolved from just being smooth and efficient transactions to bringing value across the entire user base and value chain," explained Bryngelson, representing global payment network Klarna. He described how payments technology has progressed from physical cards to contactless payments and mobile wallets, with AI-driven autonomous payments representing the next frontier.
Ilola, whose company Star Cart operates an AI agent for online shopping, provided a compelling vision of what this technology enables: "Agentic commerce means you can send an AI agent out into the web to shop on your behalf, handling tasks from buying concert tickets to gifts without lifting a finger."
The technology uses virtual payment cards to execute purchases across thousands of merchants, with the AI handling everything from price comparisons to shipping options on behalf of consumers.
Merchants face new competitive landscape
The panel discussion revealed significant implications for merchants in an era where AI agents might become the primary shoppers. Bryngelson highlighted how this shifts the competitive dynamics: "Price comparison will become the norm as AI shopping assistants seek the best deals, making it crucial for merchants to offer uniqueness beyond just price."
In a particularly striking example, Ilola described how Star Cart had generated millions in sales for one Nordic retailer before even meeting them. "The retailer called it a miracle—a favorite new sales channel—because they did nothing and just received orders," he said.
Google's dominance under threat
Perhaps the most significant disruption lies in how consumers discover products. "The biggest change in commerce could come from shifting away from Google's dominance as people increasingly use AI assistants like ChatGPT for product discovery," Ilola noted.
This potential shift has merchants considering how to optimise for AI assistants rather than traditional search engines—what Ilola termed "AI assistant optimisation" as a successor to search engine optimisation (SEO).
Technical and regulatory hurdles remain
Despite the promising future, the speakers acknowledged substantial challenges. These include regulatory frameworks that balance innovation with consumer protection, and the technical complexity of enabling AI agents to interact with thousands of different merchant websites.
"Currently, there's no common API for merchants, there are over two million online stores in Europe, and their web interfaces were designed for humans, not bots," Ilola explained, highlighting the complexity of automating purchases across diverse interfaces.
Looking ahead
As the session concluded, the speakers emphasised the transformative potential of the technology while acknowledging the work still to be done.
"There's massive opportunity in agentic AI for payments ahead, focused on balancing consumer demands with maximizing retailer opportunities for seamless buying experiences," Bryngelson noted.
Ilola's vision was equally ambitious: "We want to allow consumers anywhere in Europe to buy any physical goods anywhere, with one button—never needing to visit another merchant site again."
The Nordic Fintech Summit continues today with further discussions on emerging financial technologies and their impact on consumers and businesses across the region.
Part of Nordic Fintech Summit