Global Banking Giants Unite to Set Standards for AI-Driven Agentic Commerce

Six global banking giants, including NatWest and Bank of America, have launched a unified framework for agentic commerce. As AI agents begin to handle autonomous purchasing and payment decisions, these principles establish the necessary guardrails for security and interoperability, ensuring financial institutions remain the trusted intermediaries in a machine-led economy.

What was announced

NatWest Group, ASB Bank, Bank of America, Capital One, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), and ING Group have jointly published a shared set of principles to govern the rise of AI-driven commerce. The framework addresses a future where autonomous AI agents could select products and execute payments on behalf of human users, effectively acting as digital intermediaries in the transaction process.

The initiative focuses on five core pillars designed to support responsible development: transparency, safety, privacy and data, choice, and interoperability. By establishing these foundations early, the group intends to ensure that both consumers and merchants maintain control over how transactions are processed, even when they are initiated by non-human agents. The participating banks, which sit at the center of the global payments ecosystem, aim to prevent fragmented systems that could compromise security or limit competition as this technology emerges.

The paper serves as an open invitation to other financial institutions and payment ecosystem participants to collaborate on a practical blueprint for these principles. This cross-border effort spans major markets including the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe, reflecting the global nature of AI development in the financial sector. The goal is to build a foundation where customers can trust that their money remains safe and their data secure while benefiting from the efficiency of AI-enabled payment experiences.

"As agentic commerce continues to evolve, establishing trust and confidence across the ecosystem will be critical to its long-term success. Building confidence among consumers, merchants and financial institutions will require thoughtful approaches to identity, authorization, fraud prevention, liability management and customer protection. We look forward to collaborating across the payments ecosystem to help establish common principles and standards that support innovation while protecting participants and fostering broader adoption."

Mark Monaco, Head of Global Payments Solutions at Bank of America.

The companies involved

The coalition represents a significant cross-section of the global banking market, bringing together institutions with deep roots in their respective regions. Bank of America is a major US-based institution with a massive international footprint, particularly in digital treasury and payment solutions. NatWest Group remains one of the "Big Four" clearing banks in the United Kingdom, focusing heavily on retail banking and small business productivity. ASB Bank, a leading provider in New Zealand, is currently navigating a period of significant national payments modernization. Commonwealth Bank of Australia is the largest issuer and acquirer in Australia, holding a dominant position in the Southern Hemisphere's retail and commercial banking sectors. Capital One is a prominent US financial corporation known for its technology-led approach to consumer finance and credit. ING Group, headquartered in the Netherlands, operates extensively across Europe and has a strong reputation for digital-first banking. Together, these firms facilitate millions of daily interactions between consumers and merchants across multiple continents.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has tracked the digital evolution of these institutions closely. Recently, we noted that BofA CashPro App Hits €100B Milestone as European Mobile Treasury Adoption Surges, highlighting the bank's scale in mobile payments. We also covered how NatWest and Enterprise Nation Partner to Unlock £30m Productivity Boost for UK Small Businesses. Furthermore, the broader industry shift toward collaborative innovation was evident at the Banking Transformation Summit USA Brings World’s Biggest Banks and Credit Unions Together to Shape the Future of Banking, where the world's largest lenders discussed the future of the sector. Additionally, we reported on leadership changes in the space, such as when Capitolis Names Former Bank of America MD Murugan Manickam as New CTO.

What this means

This announcement signals that the banking industry is moving to preempt the "wild west" phase of AI-driven payments. By setting principles for agentic commerce now, these banks are attempting to secure their role as the ultimate arbiters of trust before big tech firms or decentralized platforms can dictate the terms of autonomous transactions. The focus on interoperability suggests a defensive move against walled gardens, while the emphasis on liability and fraud prevention highlights the massive regulatory and operational risks AI agents pose. The industry now faces a critical question: can traditional banking infrastructure move fast enough to support autonomous agents without sacrificing the security and consumer protections that define the sector?