Rebecca PY Visa has launched its Visa Agentic Ready programme across Asia Pacific, including Malaysia, to help banks prepare for AI-driven agent-initiated payments. The initiative enables issuers to test and validate secure AI-powered commerce experiences in a controlled environment before broader adoption.
MALAYSIA, 8 MAY 2026 – Visa has unveiled its Visa Agentic Ready programme across Asia Pacific, including Malaysia, as the global payments company accelerates efforts to support the next generation of AI-driven commerce.
The initiative is designed to help financial institutions prepare for agentic commerce, where AI agents can initiate and complete transactions on behalf of consumers while maintaining security, trust and user control.
In its first phase, Visa Agentic Ready focuses on issuer readiness by providing banks with a controlled, production-grade environment to test and understand agent-initiated payment flows on the Visa network. The programme allows issuers to evaluate how AI-powered transactions may function in real-world scenarios before such payment experiences scale commercially.
Previn Pillay, Country Manager of Visa Malaysia, said the rise of automated commerce makes trust, security and consumer control increasingly important within the digital payments ecosystem.
He said the programme gives Malaysian issuers a structured approach to understanding how agent-initiated payments could operate while ensuring innovation progresses responsibly and consumers remain fully in control of payment decisions.
Visa Agentic Ready is powered by Visa’s network capabilities, including tokenisation, identity verification, risk management and payment controls. The programme builds on Visa Intelligent Commerce, the company’s broader strategy to enable trusted AI-driven commerce experiences globally.
Several financial institutions across the Asia Pacific region have already joined the programme. In Malaysia, participating banks include Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad, CIMB Bank Berhad, Hong Leong Bank and Maybank.
Gan Pai Li, Group Chief Consumer Banking Officer of Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad, said banks need collaborative ecosystem initiatives to better understand agent-initiated payment models and their operational implications.
CIMB Bank Berhad Chief Executive Officer Gurdip Singh Sidhu said AI is rapidly reshaping consumer behaviour and business models, making it important for banks to explore secure and responsible AI-powered payment experiences early.
Meanwhile, Hong Leong Bank Managing Director of Personal Financial Services Andrew Jong noted that agent-initiated payments introduce new governance and transaction considerations that require structured testing before wider adoption.
Maybank’s Head of Cards for Group Community Financial Services, B. Ravintharan A/L K. Balakrishnan, added that trust and customer control must remain central as payment experiences become increasingly automated.
Visa said the programme is part of its broader vision for intelligent and programmable commerce, where payments can respond dynamically to consumer intent, context and preferences through trusted AI-enabled systems.
The programme is currently available across 10 Asia Pacific markets, including Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Japan, South Korea and Thailand, following an earlier rollout in Europe.