Asia Pacific Payments Industry Forms Working Group on AI Agent Liability

The Emerging Payments Association Asia (EPAA), along with founding member HSBC, has established the AI & Agentic Payments Working Group. This initiative brings together banks, payment networks, fintechs, and technology platforms across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region to define standards for the safe and scalable operation of agent-based commerce.

AI agents are already conducting payments on behalf of consumers and businesses throughout APAC. Alipay's AI Pay processed over 120 million autonomous transactions in a single week in February, and Mastercard completed its first live consumer-authenticated agentic payment in the region in March. The APAC market for agent-based commerce is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 45% through 2031, making it the fastest-growing globally.

Currently, the region lacks agreed-upon standards regarding liability for AI agents exceeding their mandates. Key unanswered questions include how agents are identified and authenticated across borders, how fraud detection systems differentiate legitimate agent activity from compromised accounts, and how disputes are resolved when software, not a person, initiates a transaction.

The EPAA's working group is the first industry-wide effort in APAC to collectively address these challenges. It will develop common standards and infrastructure for agent identity, authentication, and authorization. The group will also establish trust and liability frameworks to define responsibility when an agent acts beyond its authority or when a payment fails. Furthermore, it will focus on business and commercial models to ensure agent-based commerce is viable and scalable for all ecosystem participants.

The working group will engage with regulators across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to ensure its frameworks align with current industry practices. Formal policy recommendations are slated for delivery at the 51st ASEAN Summit and APEC Economic Leaders' Week in November 2027.