Agentic winners will be determined by Trust not Tech
Over 50% of consumers wouldn’t trust an agent with their card details: Ecommpay white paper identifies the trust gap that must be filled before AI agents can check out
Bringing the voices of merchants and consumers from across five European countries together for the first time anywhere, new research[1] from inclusive global payments platform, Ecommpay, reveals a significant gap between the promise of agentic commerce and consumer readiness. The white paper, Before They Check Out, identifies that although AI is becoming part of consumer life, shoppers are not ready to hand over full buying power to a digital agent. It also draws attention to the critical needs of vulnerable consumers that can’t be ignored as agentic commerce evolves.
The Ecommpay research focused on how people currently use AI, their awareness of agents, their comfort with different agent functions, and how they intend to use agents in the future. Merchant interviews add a practical view of the commercial and operational challenges facing agentic commerce, and what needs to be solved before it can scale.
Key findings:
- 2% of consumer respondents have heard of using agents for online purchases
- 4% think agentic shopping will become common
- 3% use AI agents to compare prices; 47.1% to find discounts/better deals
- 1% would not trust an agent with their card details
- 8% use agents to put in items in their basket – but the consumer checks out
- Just 13.9% want agents to complete purchases – with their approval
- 2% would allow an agent to complete purchases between £50-£100/€50-€100
Roy Blokker, Head of Strategic Sales at Ecommpay commented: “Our research suggests that the biggest barrier to agentic commerce adoption is not consumer awareness or merchant interest; it’s trust at the point of payment.
“Consumers are happy to use AI to search and compare products and prices; many are already using it in their daily lives. But trust drops sharply when asked if they will allow agents to handle card details or complete purchases.
“The payments ecosystem – from merchants to PSPs – needs to focus on nurturing consumer trust if it is to benefit from the commercial opportunities of agentic commerce. Currently some merchants are building agentic commerce into their own platforms where there is more control on the checkout experience. But the big question will come when merchants allow AI platforms to offer a checkout facility.
“There is also work to be done in building merchant confidence. Uncertainty around liability when something goes wrong, as well as how chargebacks and disputes will be managed was evident amongst all the merchant interviews.”
The other key issue for merchants is the impact of digital agents on vulnerable consumers. Referencing a recent study by the Diversity and Inclusion Working Group of the UK Payments Association (UKPA), the Ecommpay report highlights the regulatory and reputational risks of merchants getting it wrong. The UKPA study revealed that 42% of the most vulnerable respondents said they had been unable to complete a banking or payment task because an AI-powered or digital tool did not work.
Roy Blokker continued: “More than any single technical development, our research suggests adoption will depend on merchants trusting the solution: clear authority, visible controls, secure payment flows and reliable fallback routes. Already holding a strong position of trust, payment service providers (PSPs) are ready to support identity proofing, transaction mandates, authentication, fraud prevention and dispute management.
“PSPs are the connective tissue between merchants, consumers, banks and schemes – perfectly placed to deliver the vital trust layer that will secure consumer confidence and empower merchants to succeed within agentic commerce.”
[1] 1,750 consumers surveyed across the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy April 2026 by Smart Survey
