HSBC and EPAA launch agentic payments working group

It aims to define the standard of agentic commerce across APAC.

HSBC and the Emerging Payments Association Asia (EPAA) have launched an AI & Agentic Payments Working Group.

The working group aims to bring together banks, payment networks, fintechs, and technology platforms to define the standards of agentic commerce across the Asia Pacific region.

Amongst their goals include developing common standards and infrastructure for agent identity, authentication, and authorisation, as well as trust and liability frameworks that define responsibility for the AI agents.

They will also develop business models and commercial frameworks to make agentic commerce “viable and scalable for all participants,” EPAA and HSBC said in the 20 July 2026 announcement.

The working group will also coordinate engagement with regulators across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

APAC is expected to be the fastest growing market for agentic commerce globally, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 45% through 2031, according to estimates from Mordor Intelligence.