Mastercard’s new Signals report, titled “Encoding Trust: The Race for Intent, Consent and Control in an AI-Powered World,” examines the emerging era of commerce in which AI assistants go beyond conducting research and offering recommendations on behalf of consumers and businesses, moving instead into making decisions and executing transactions.

According to the report, the main barrier to the growth of AI-assisted commerce is no longer technological capability, but rather users’ trust in delegating decision-making and payment authority to these systems. As a result, the widespread adoption of AI-assisted commerce will depend on a trust architecture in which the identity of AI assistants can be verified, user intent is clearly recorded, granted authority can be limited, and can be revoked when necessary.

Consumers open to assistance, cautious about full autonomy

The share of respondents who say they would allow AI to select a product to purchase based on their preferences and budget, provided the payment is approved by the consumer, reaches 32 percent. However, the share of those ready to grant AI full autonomous authority to complete a purchase, even when predetermined rules are in place, remains at just 9 percent.

A $5 trillion global potential by 2030

Although AI-assisted commerce is still in the early stages of its development, it carries significant economic potential. According to the report, global consumer spending supported by AI assistants is expected to reach 3 to 5 trillion dollars by 2030. In business-to-business transactions, this figure is projected to be up to three times larger.

By contrast, transactions carried out through AI assistants currently account for only 0.4 percent of global e-commerce volume and 0.2 percent of transaction value. According to the report, this gap between market potential and current usage shows the need to build strong infrastructures in the areas of trust, identity verification, authorization, merchant acceptance and transaction security.

Trust will be established before the moment of payment

This shift requires the creation of a new “trust layer” between user intent and the execution of payment. This layer can verify, before money moves, who is carrying out the transaction, which actions the user has authorized, and which limits apply, such as spending limit, time window, product category or merchant. Recording the AI assistant’s activities also provides an auditable transaction history in the event of potential disputes. Technology platforms, meanwhile, need to be able to verify the AI assistant’s identity and user consent, and offer consumers the ability to modify or revoke the authority they have granted. Developing shared and clearly understood rules among all parties in the ecosystem regarding liability, disputes and resolution is among the fundamental conditions for building trust in AI-assisted commerce.

Mastercard is developing secure authorization infrastructure

Mastercard is adapting its identity verification, cybersecurity, tokenization, payment security and global network capabilities to the needs of AI-assisted commerce. Mastercard Agent Pay, along with dedicated tokens for AI assistants, Verifiable Intent and assistant identity solutions, aims to ensure that authority granted by users can be defined, verified and enforced throughout the transaction.

Mastercard Chief AI and Data Officer Greg Ulrich commented on the matter:

“AI-assisted commerce only works when three elements scale together: the payments that enable transactions, the trust and security that safeguard them, and the AI-powered services that make them smarter and more personal. Mastercard is accelerating its work across all three areas, drawing on its network to turn emerging capabilities into real-world applications.”

The report concludes that the future of AI-assisted commerce will not be determined solely by how autonomously AI assistants can act. The success of this new era will depend on clear authorization models that users can understand, secure and interoperable infrastructures, visible control mechanisms, and effective dispute resolution processes.

To access the full Mastercard Signals report: https://view.ceros.com/mastercard-labs/encoding-trust/p/1

China’s Alibaba, opens new tab shares slumped in Hong Kong trade on Monday after it launched a $10.2 billion share sale at a steep discount to ​fund its AI ambitions, with investors focused on stock dilution and execution risks.

The e-commerce and cloud computing giant said it would sell HK$80 billion ($10.2 billion) of new shares at HK$112.70 ‌each, an 8.4% discount to Friday’s close, to fund chips, AI infrastructure and models. AI has become Alibaba’s biggest driver of revenue growth at a time when e-commerce growth is stagnating, and its Qwen AI models are some of the most popular in China. Even so, some investors have reservations about how successful it will be.

“Alibaba’s DNA is in e-commerce, not advanced tech,” said Yang Tingwu, vice general manager of asset manager Tongheng Investment. “No matter how much it invests in AI hardware, it will ​likely be outmaneuvered by competitors in tech innovation.” Its Hong Kong shares fell as much as 10.5% but pared losses in the afternoon to trade in line with the discount offered.

The sale of ​710 million ordinary shares is equivalent to 3.6% of enlarged total shares outstanding.

It drew strong demand, attracting $28 billion of orders, including $6 billion from long-only and sovereign investors, ⁠three people with knowledge of the matter said.

About 40% of the book will go to long-only and sovereign investors, including major sovereign wealth funds in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, two of the people ​said.

Investors included the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Norway’s Norges wealth fund and Hillhouse, according to one person.

Alibaba, Hillhouse, QIA and Norges did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Alibaba chairman Joe Tsai bought 720,000 Hong Kong shares ​at an average price of HK$112 apiece, for about HK$80 million in aggregate, while Eddie Wu, the group’s chief executive, bought 350,000 Hong Kong shares at an average price of HK$111.6 per share, totalling HK$40 million, according to the group’s stock exchange disclosures later on Monday.

Banks and regulators from Europe, the Middle East, and Asia have joined a pilot testing post-quantum crypto transfers led by RFI and Safeheron.

According to the announcement, the initiative was announced by the Responsible Fintech Institute (RFI) and crypto custody infrastructure provider Safeheron.

The pilot is built on a multiparty computation protocol supporting ML-DSA-65, a post-quantum digital signature standard published by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology. The protocol is being tested on a quantum-resistant NEAR testnet, with participating banks generating wallets and executing transfers within a shared application environment.

Multiparty computation splits private key material across several parties, removing the need for a single point of custody. Combining this approach with a NIST-approved post-quantum signature standard is intended to test how existing custody models could be adapted ahead of any transition away from current public-key cryptography, which quantum computers are expected to eventually be able to break.

Regulatory involvement and governance

According to RFI, participating regulators include the Abu Dhabi Global Market, Bhutan’s Gelephu Financial Services Office, and Malta’s Financial Services Authority, while Bison Bank and DK Bank are taking part as financial institutions. Participation levels differ between institutions: banks are directly testing wallet generation and transfer functionality during the initial phase, while regulators are observing this stage and are expected to contribute to a governance workstream at a later point.

In addition, the organisers have said they plan to publish a white paper covering the research, protocol design, and test findings from the pilot, and intend to eventually open-source the underlying technology. This would allow other institutions and infrastructure providers to review or build on the protocol outside the initial group of participants.

Xero has introduced Xero Payroll, powered by Gusto, Melio Expense Management, and API tools as part of a set of product updates for its US customers.

The updates form part of Xero’s 3×3 strategy and are intended to bring accounting, payments, payroll, and tax functions into a single platform for small businesses and their accountants and bookkeepers. The announcements were made alongside new features within JAX, Xero’s agentic platform, which the company said now supports five million customers worldwide.

Xero Payroll offering includes unlimited payroll runs, automated federal, state and local tax calculations and filings, direct deposit, payments to employees and contractors, benefits calculations, as well as employee self-service functions. According to Xero, the aim is to reduce manual administrative work and give businesses a clearer view of cash flow moving in and out of the company.

Melio expands expense management and adds AI tool

Melio, which Xero acquired in 2025, has launched Melio Expense Management, a tool that allows businesses to track and categorise card expenses in real time without changing credit cards or adopting additional software. The tool works independently of the accounting platform in use, extracting transaction details, categorising expenses and syncing them with the customer’s existing accounting system alongside other bills and payments.

In addition, Melio has also introduced Casper, an AI-based client manager for accounting firms. Casper is designed to identify missing information, communicate with clients and support bookkeeping tasks throughout the month, while leaving accountants and bookkeepers responsible for final decisions. The tool is intended to reduce the need for accountants to follow up with clients manually and to make month-end processes more efficient. Casper operates across different ledger systems and is positioned to work alongside JAX.

API access and instant payments

Melio has additionally rolled out the Melio API, a self-serve, B2B payout API providing developers with access to Melio’s payment rails, including ACH, real-time payments, paper checks, domestic and international wires and virtual cards. Melio continues to manage payment execution, compliance, risk and delivery, meaning payees are not required to onboard onto Melio to receive funds. At the same time, the API is currently live in closed beta, with wider availability expected in the coming months.

Apollo has confirmed unauthorised access to personal data after a cyber attack hit its cloud platforms in July 2026.

According to Financial Times, Apollo stated that it had notified law enforcement of the incident and was continuing to assess its scope.

In a letter posted to the California attorney general’s website, Apollo said the exposed information included names, dates of birth, home addresses, and social security numbers. The company attributed the breach to a social engineering incident, a method in which attackers manipulate individuals into granting access to secure systems, typically through phishing emails or fraudulent phone calls. Apollo did not disclose further details of how the attack was carried out.

The letter, dated Friday and addressed to an individual affected by the breach, stated that there was no evidence the exposed personal information had been publicly posted or used for identity theft or fraud at the time of writing. Apollo did not respond to a request for comment on the incident.

Part of a wider pattern of attacks on financial firms

The disclosure follows attacks on several hedge funds, including Point72, Citadel, and Millennium Management, which were reported earlier in the same month. The recurrence of such incidents across large financial institutions reflects the sector’s exposure to cyber threats, given the scale of personal, financial, and operational data these firms hold.

It remains unclear whether artificial intelligence played a role in the attack on Apollo. However, the incident comes amid broader concern among governments and financial institutions about the potential for AI tools to lower the barrier for cyber criminals and state-linked groups seeking to target sensitive systems.

Regulatory and industry context

In April 2026, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with leaders of several large US banks to discuss cyber risks associated with an advanced AI model developed by Anthropic, which reportedly demonstrated an ability to detect cybersecurity vulnerabilities. The following month, the Trump administration introduced export controls on some of Anthropic’s advanced models after identifying a method for bypassing safety measures; the restrictions were lifted by the end of June 2026.

Viva.com has signed a contract with the Treasury of the Republic of Cyprus to process electronic payments for the country’s public sector.

Under the agreement, the Greece-based company will set up a payments infrastructure covering electronic payments made by citizens and businesses to the state, including direct taxes, vehicle licence renewals, and social insurance contributions. The total managed payment volume under the contract is expected to exceed EUR 1.5 billion annually.

Infrastructure and technology

According to the official press release, Viva.com will provide the Cypriot state with a multi-channel electronic transaction processing infrastructure that combines card and A2A payments. The company will act as the processing engine behind Cyprus’s Payment Gateway (PGW), which operates via the Gov.cy platform, centralising electronic payments so that citizens can settle obligations to government departments and services through a single platform.

Viva.com will manage online transactions through its Smart Checkout payment solution and will be responsible for the procurement, installation, and maintenance of physical card-acceptance (POS) terminals using its Tap on Any Device technology across Cyprus’s public services.

The company describes itself as a pan-European banking infrastructure provider combining payments, banking, and financing, and operates across 31 European countries. The Cyprus contract extends this infrastructure to the public sector, adding to the company’s existing presence serving businesses across the region.

Western Union has partnered with TenPay Global to launch the Weixin Mini Program for Australia-to-China remittances. According to the official press release, the application operates within the Weixin/WeChat platform and does not require a separate download or installation.

Users can access the tool through Weixin/WeChat’s Discover tab, search function, chats, or nearby listings. Access requires registration and a one-time identity verification step, completed using either an Australian driver’s licence or passport. Once verified, users can add recipients, fund transfers via bank transfer or debit/credit card, and select a payout method in China. In addition, according to the companies, funds are typically available to recipients within minutes.

The service is designed for users already active on Weixin/WeChat, integrating the remittance function into a platform that many Australia-based users of Chinese heritage use for daily communication and other services.

Partnership and market context

The launch stems from a partnership between Western Union and TenPay Global, the Singapore-based entity operating Tencent’s cross-border payment infrastructure. Gregory Laurent, Western Union’s Regional Vice President (Japan, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand & Pacific Islands), described the initiative as part of the company’s continued digital development in Australia, combining its money transfer network with the Weixin/WeChat ecosystem. In addition, Wenhui Yang, CEO of TenPay Global (Singapore), said the collaboration extends the company’s existing work with Western Union and aims to connect the Weixin ecosystem with international partners, adding that further payment solutions supporting cross-border transfers are planned.

Remittance corridors between Australia and China represent one of several markets where diaspora communities rely on digital channels to send funds home, and providers in this space have increasingly sought to embed transfer functionality within platforms already used for messaging and social interaction rather than requiring standalone applications. Embedding a remittance function within an existing super-app, such as Weixin/WeChat, removes a distribution barrier for providers, since users do not need to seek out or install a separate service.