Worldline, ING and Mastercard complete Europe’s first Agentic Payment pilot
Europe just proved an AI agent can complete a real bank payment — moving agentic commerce from demo to live rails.
Key takeaways
- The transaction took place between an ING cardholder and a merchant in the Netherlands, using infrastructure that operates across Belgium on the Mastercard network.
- ING handles the authentication and authorisation using its established security mechanisms, while Worldline processes the payment across its issuing and acquiring platforms.
- The companies stated the transaction proves that agentic commerce can function securely across European payment infrastructures while maintaining transparency for the issuing bank.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2026) 'Worldline, ING and Mastercard complete Europe’s first Agentic Payment pilot', 311 Institute, 29 April. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/worldline-ing-and-mastercard-complete-europes-first-agentic-payment-pilot/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
Months after I wrote about Coinbase developing their own agentic AI payment networks Worldline, ING and Mastercard have completed a live agentic payment transaction, demonstrating how an AI agent can assist consumers in initiating purchases. The transaction took place between an ING cardholder and a merchant in the Netherlands, using infrastructure that operates across Belgium on the Mastercard network.
Under this system, a merchant’s AI agent searches for items within a predefined budget and presents a curated selection to the buyer. The consumer remains directly involved and must give explicit approval before the purchase proceeds.
The AI assists with initiation, but it does not replace consumer authentication authority. ING handles the authentication and authorisation using its established security mechanisms, while Worldline processes the payment across its issuing and acquiring platforms.
The companies stated the transaction proves that agentic commerce can function securely across European payment infrastructures while maintaining transparency for the issuing bank.
“Agentic commerce is no longer theoretical, it is production-ready today,”
said Madalena Cascais Tomé, Member of the Executive Committee at Worldline.
“For ING, this collaboration is the perfect opportunity to lay a solid foundation for our continued role as a trusted partner in an increasingly agentic future in banking,” said Hans Overeem, Head of Payments, ING Netherlands.
The pilot establishes that the required technical workflows are ready for deployment, with the companies planning to explore future use cases such as recurring transactions and delegated purchases.
FAQ
Did an AI agent actually move money on its own here?
No, the agent searched and assembled the purchase, but the cardholder still had to approve it and ING handled authentication and authorisation, so the human and the bank stay firmly in control of the payment.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
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Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 29 April 2026. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2026). Worldline, ING and Mastercard complete Europe’s first Agentic Payment pilot. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/worldline-ing-and-mastercard-complete-europes-first-agentic-payment-pilot/
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