Singapore – Mastercard has completed its first live authenticated agent-initiated payment transaction in Singapore in collaboration with DBS and UOB, representing a development in the adoption of AI in commercial transactions.
The announcement follows the company’s recent plans to establish an AI Centre of Excellence in Singapore, which is expected to become its largest innovation facility in the Asia-Pacific region. Earlier this year, Mastercard also completed Australia’s first authenticated agentic payments via Agent Pay.
Meanwhile, the pilot transaction in Singapore demonstrated how AI systems can support consumers in completing routine activities, including transport and lifestyle arrangements, while maintaining security and verification standards. In the demonstration, an AI agent arranged transportation to Changi Airport through hoppa, an international mobility services provider. The reservation and associated payment were enabled through CardInfoLink’s AI agent, which connects to hoppa’s network of taxis and airport limousine services.
Tokenised payment credentials were used in the transaction, and authentication was carried out using Mastercard Payment Passkeys to strengthen user verification and safeguard consumer data.
“As the nation advances its AI agenda, Mastercard’s first live agentic transaction shows how innovation can be brought into everyday services responsibly and securely with Agent Pay,” Minsook Cho, country manager of Singapore at Mastercard, shared.
“Together with like-minded partners like DBS and UOB, Mastercard is supporting the vision for AI‑powered commerce by building trusted foundations.”
The agentic payments operate through Mastercard Agent Pay, a framework designed to support payments initiated by AI agents. Each transaction uses a unique Mastercard agentic token assigned to the specific agent to enhance security. Consumer approval is recorded during the process, while payment confirmation is validated through passkey-based authentication.
Mastercard indicated that it plans to extend the application of authenticated AI-driven payments to additional sectors, including transport, travel, entertainment and retail, as part of broader development efforts in agent-enabled commerce.
The company is also expanding its regional initiatives to support AI-based payment environments.
These efforts include establishing the Singapore-based AI Centre of Excellence to support innovation and oversight for AI-driven transactions, strengthening partnerships with large language model providers and AI developers across APAC, and creating dedicated teams focused on agent-enabled commerce to assist banks and merchants adopting such technologies.
The Singapore transaction follows similar authenticated AI-initiated payment trials previously completed in Australia, New Zealand and India.
