Ecommpay Research Reveals 50% of Consumers Distrust AI Agents with Payment Details

Quick Summary

Ecommpay research reveals that 50.1% of consumers do not trust agentic commerce with their card details. While 73.4% believe AI-driven shopping will become common, a significant trust gap remains at the checkout, requiring Payment Service Providers to implement robust security and identity layers.

How Does Agentic Commerce Impact Consumer Trust?

Agentic commerce represents the next frontier of retail, yet Ecommpay’s data shows a stark divide between utility and security. While 53.3% of shoppers use AI to compare product prices and 47.1% seek out discounts, the willingness to delegate financial execution is low. Only 13.9% of respondents are comfortable with an agent completing a purchase, even with explicit approval.

• 59.2% awareness of AI agents for online shopping.
• 50.1% refusal rate for sharing card details with digital agents.
• 24.2% spending limit comfortability between £50 and £100.

For merchants, this suggests that agentic commerce adoption will be incremental. Success depends on moving beyond simple search functions toward secure payment flows that reassure the user at the final point of sale.

What Challenges Do Merchants Face with AI Payments?

Merchant confidence is currently hindered by operational and regulatory ambiguities. Interviews conducted by Ecommpay highlight deep concerns regarding liability for errors and the management of chargebacks in an automated environment. Furthermore, the impact on vulnerable consumers is a critical risk; 42% of vulnerable users have previously failed to complete tasks due to faulty digital tools.

"Uncertainty around liability when something goes wrong, as well as how chargebacks and disputes will be managed was evident amongst all the merchant interviews." said Roy Blokker, Head of Strategic Sales at Ecommpay.

To overcome these hurdles, the industry must prioritize visible user controls and reliable fallback routes. Agentic commerce cannot scale if it excludes segments of the population or leaves merchants exposed to unclear dispute protocols.

How Can PSPs Bridge the Agentic Trust Gap?

Payment Service Providers (PSPs) are positioned as the essential "connective tissue" in the evolving ecosystem. By providing the vital trust layer, PSPs can handle complex requirements such as identity proofing, transaction mandates, and advanced fraud prevention. This infrastructure allows merchants to offer agentic commerce features without compromising on security or compliance.

"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." said Roy Blokker, Head of Strategic Sales at Ecommpay.

By integrating transaction authentication directly into the agentic workflow, PSPs ensure that agentic commerce becomes a viable, high-conversion channel rather than a speculative technology.

FF NEWS TAKE:

The shift toward agentic commerce is inevitable, but Ecommpay is right to sound the alarm on the trust gap. Technology is moving faster than consumer psychology. For this to "move the needle," the industry must stop selling the "magic" of AI and start proving the security of the transaction. Until PSPs standardize identity mandates for agents, autonomous shopping will remain a niche curiosity rather than a retail revolution.