Agentic Payments In B2C Commerce: Where We Are Now

2026-04-09 · Source: Featured Blogs - Forrester · Field: Business & Management — E-commerce & Digital Commerce, Project & Product Management, Corporate Strategy & Leadership · Depth: Intermediate, medium

Summary

The landscape of agentic payments in B2C e-commerce is rapidly evolving, marked by low but growing consumer adoption and intense competition among payment protocols. Google's Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) and OpenAI's Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP) remain frontrunners, with Google's Gemini App boasting 750 million monthly active users and ChatGPT having 900 million weekly active users. Alibaba's Alipay also launched its protocol, supporting commerce in its Qwen App, which has 300 million monthly active users. OpenAI is discontinuing its Instant Checkout due to "lackluster performance" and shifting focus to ChatGPT Apps and product discovery. A significant development is the emergence of agent-to-agent payment protocols like Stripe and Tempo's Machine Payment Protocol (MPP), designed for autonomous AI agent transactions, with Visa extending support. Merchant payment providers are positioning themselves as "connectors," building capabilities for various protocols, including UCP, ACP, and "Know Your Agent" standards.

Key takeaway

For VPs of Engineering or Data leading e-commerce initiatives, you should closely monitor the shifting landscape of agentic payment protocols. Prioritize integrating with dominant platforms like Google's UCP and Alibaba's Agentic Commerce Trust Protocol, while also preparing for the rise of agent-to-agent payment systems like Stripe's MPP. Your strategy should balance direct consumer-facing AI agent experiences with robust backend support for autonomous machine payments, ensuring merchant control and strong fraud prevention.

Key insights

Agentic payments are evolving rapidly, driven by protocol competition and the emergence of agent-to-agent transaction capabilities.

Principles

• Interoperability is crucial for agentic commerce adoption.
• Consumer adoption of AI shopping agents is gradual.
• Merchant control is a key factor in protocol selection.

In practice

• Integrate with Google's UCP or OpenAI's ACP for broad reach.
• Explore agent-to-agent payment protocols for B2B automation.
• Prioritize "Know Your Agent" and fraud protection capabilities.

Topics

• Agentic Payments
• B2C E-commerce
• AI Agents
• Payment Protocols
• Google Universal Commerce Protocol

Best for: Investor, Entrepreneur, VP of Engineering/Data, AI Product Manager, Consultant, Executive

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by Featured Blogs - Forrester.