Global payments giant Visa has unveiled a new strategy built around artificial intelligence (AI), tokenisation and stablecoins, signalling a major shift in the future of digital commerce as consumers and businesses increasingly adopt automated and intelligent payment systems.
This is even as the company disclosed that tokenised transactions across its Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) region have grown sharply from 26 percent in 2023 to 70 percent in 2026, reflecting growing demand for more secure digital payments.
Visa also revealed that stablecoin settlement volumes in the region have increased by nearly 60 times within one year of launching its settlement capabilities, highlighting the rapid adoption of blockchain-based payment infrastructure by financial institutions.
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The announcement came ahead of the Visa Payments Forum in Paris, where the company outlined new technologies aimed at helping banks, merchants and payment providers prepare for what it described as the next generation of commerce.
According to Visa, two technologies, artificial intelligence and stablecoins, are reshaping both how consumers make payments and how money moves behind the scenes.
Tareq Muhmood, regional president for CEMEA, said commerce is becoming more intelligent, automated and deeply integrated into everyday digital experiences.
“Commerce is entering a new phase that is increasingly intelligent, programmable and embedded into everyday experiences,” Muhmood said.
He noted that while the opportunities for businesses in the digital economy are expanding, trust and interoperability remain critical for wider adoption.
Visa said AI is already changing how payments are initiated, approved and secured. As AI-powered digital assistants begin making purchases on behalf of consumers and businesses, the company has introduced new technologies to ensure those transactions remain safe and transparent.
Among the new offerings is Visa Intelligent Commerce, a platform designed to allow trusted AI agents to search for products, initiate purchases and complete payments securely.
To strengthen confidence in AI-driven transactions, Visa also launched Agent Score, a tool developed with New Generation that enables merchants to assess whether their websites are ready for AI-powered shopping. The company also introduced an Agentic Directory, which verifies legitimate merchants and AI agents before transactions take place.
Visa said tokenisation remains one of the strongest drivers of e-commerce growth across the CEMEA region. Instead of exposing actual card numbers during transactions, token technology replaces sensitive payment details with secure digital tokens, reducing fraud risks while improving customer experience.
Building on this, Visa is introducing richer token information that provides additional details about each transaction, including how and where the token is being used. It is also adding a new “token assurance” feature that evaluates a token’s history and behaviour throughout its lifecycle to generate a trust signal for every payment.
The company believes these improvements will become increasingly important as AI-powered commerce becomes more widespread.
On the back-end of payments, Visa is expanding its use of blockchain and stablecoins to modernise settlement between financial institutions.
The company said it is developing tokenised deposit technology that will allow banks to convert traditional deposits into programmable digital money while keeping customer funds on their balance sheets.
Visa disclosed that since launching its first stablecoin settlement pilots in early 2025, it has processed billions of dollars in stablecoin transactions through VisaNet, reaching an annualised transaction run rate of about $7 billion as of March 2026.
The company is now working to extend seven-day settlement beyond issuing banks to include acquiring banks, allowing merchants and financial institutions to receive payments faster throughout the week.
Visa also said adoption of stablecoin-linked payment cards continues to grow, with more than 160 programmes already live or under development globally. These programmes enable consumers and businesses to spend stablecoin balances anywhere Visa cards are accepted.
Beyond payments, Visa is also applying AI to customer engagement. The company announced the launch of Visa Trip Intelligence across the CEMEA region, an AI-powered service that combines VisaNet transaction data with third-party information to predict when customers are planning to travel.
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The platform enables banks to offer personalised travel recommendations, activate relevant card benefits before departure and reduce payment disruptions while customers are abroad.
The latest announcements reflect Visa’s broader strategy to position itself not only as a payment network but also as a technology platform supporting AI-driven commerce, blockchain-based settlements and intelligent financial services.
The rapid growth in tokenised payments and stablecoin settlements suggests that digital payment infrastructure is evolving beyond traditional card transactions, with AI expected to play an increasingly central role in how consumers discover products, make purchases and manage financial activities over the coming years.
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