Wirex joins Visa program to test AI agents making payments

Wirex has joined Visa’s Agentic Ready programme to help test how artificial intelligence agents can initiate and complete payments using stablecoins.

According to an announcement from Wirex, the company will participate as an issuer in Visa’s new initiative, which is focused on developing payment systems that allow software agents to carry out financial transactions on behalf of users while maintaining security and consumer controls.

The programme comes as businesses increasingly experiment with AI-powered tools capable of handling tasks without constant human input.

Wirex said the agentic economy is expanding at an annual rate of 44% and argued that stablecoins offer payment infrastructure that can operate continuously without the limitations of traditional banking systems.

Visa is testing stablecoins across multiple payment use cases

Under the programme, Wirex will work alongside Visa and other ecosystem participants to test how AI-driven agents can execute payments in real-world environments.

According to Wirex, the trials will focus on making sure transactions remain secure, reliable, and consistent with consumer expectations around transparency and control.

Early testing will examine use cases including software-as-a-service subscriptions, marketing budget management, and procurement processes for businesses.

The latest initiative adds to Visa’s growing involvement in blockchain-based payments. As reported by crypto.news earlier, Visa recently worked with Brale and participants on the Canton Network to test stablecoin settlement using Brale’s SBC token.

According to the companies involved, the proof-of-concept explored whether privacy-enabled blockchain infrastructure could support institutional payments without exposing sensitive transaction information.

Rather than using public blockchain networks, the Canton project examined settlement activity within a permissioned environment designed for financial institutions that require greater control over transaction visibility.

Over the past several years, Visa has also expanded stablecoin-related payment programs. Earlier efforts included settlement using Circle’s USDC on Ethereum, while newer projects have explored stablecoin-funded payments, tokenized asset spending, and crypto rewards products.

Wirex says business demand for agentic payments is increasing

Wirex said its participation builds on an existing relationship with Visa, of which the company is already a principal member. According to Wirex, the collaboration will explore how AI systems can handle payment-related tasks such as booking travel, managing subscriptions, and executing transactions without requiring approval at every stage.

While discussing the project, Wirex emphasized that users will continue to provide consent and retain visibility over how transactions are carried out.

Commenting on the announcement, Wirex co-founder and CEO Pavel Matveev said agent-driven interactions are becoming more common across the company’s business customer base.

“Together with Visa, we want to introduce a trusted model for payments to lead this shift, delegating financial actions to software whilst operating within Visa’s global payment networks and Wirex’s decade-long track record of compliance.”

Recent Visa-linked crypto payment initiatives have extended beyond stablecoin settlement. Earlier this month, a Visa card issued through Tether and Fasset enabled users to spend tokenized gold while earning rewards denominated in Tether Gold. Separately, SBI Group launched a Visa-linked card in Japan that offers Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP rewards through SBI VC Trade.