"The future is here, and we’re ready. As we stand at the forefront of gen AI innovation, Visa remains committed to embedding trust and transparency into everything we do."
— Rajat Taneja, President, Technology, Visa
Transformative Trends
These changes would transform not just how consumers shop but could shift the entire structure of business and consumer behavior.
- Our personal identity will continue to expand across our smart devices and digital networks, requiring advanced trust networks to protect against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.
- AI assistants will change our buying and selling habits in ways that go beyond traditional banking and payments.
- Generation Alpha (born after 2010) will approach money differently, shaped by their experiences engaging with complex decision making through video games, social media dashboards, and AI tools.
- As our resources become easier to identify and quantify, new markets will emerge focused on reducing environmental damage and creating sustainable value.
The Commerce of Tomorrow, Today report doesn't predict what will happen. Instead, it explores possible futures that merchants, banks, and consumers may face in the next ten years, and beyond. These possibilities are based on trends we see today — from new technologies to changing consumer behavior. Each chapter in this report describes a potential future scenario. Explore the first two chapters now and check back to learn more about the final two.
The Trust Principle
The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to be a significant moment for the trust that customers and communities place in various institutions, including banks and financial companies, as well as governments, businesses, and media. The thoughtful and transparent use of AI to benefit consumer interests has the potential to establish new levels of trust with customers, creating relationships that are more personal and integrated into people's lives than before. Conversely, the application of AI in less considerate or coherent ways may decrease trust, as customers and businesses navigate a complex and uncertain environment. Developing trust and transparency consistently and for the long term is crucial to managing short-term disruptions.
Roles of advanced trust networks
With these protections in place, trust networks will help everyone feel confident about using AI for their daily financial tasks, knowing their money and identity are safe:
Watch dogs
Trust networks will make sure everyone is who they claim to be and constantly watch for anything that seems out of place, like someone pretending to be you.
Safety nets
Trust networks will watch out for AI systems that discriminate against certain people or break rules. When AI makes mistakes, the trust networks will catch and fix them before anyone gets hurt.
Digital bodyguards
Trust networks will keep money transfers secure, even as hackers get better tools. As new technologies like quantum computers arrive, these networks will use advanced security methods to stay one step ahead of criminals.
"Even though the future is too complex to predict precisely, we examined long-term trends, early signals of change and future scenarios designed to challenge current assumptions and help think differently about what's ahead. With the prevalence of AI, the future is here."
— Dylan Hendricks, Director, Institute for the Future
AI Agent: Reporting for Duty
AI agents, like a personalized chatbot, will soon become more common, transforming how people interact with commerce. Consumers may have access to personalized, online assistants providing real-time guidance and strategies.
Unlike today's tech, these AI assistants won't just come from big companies. They'll be widely available in many forms, creating a network of digital helpers around every transaction:
- Businesses and organizations will use AI to handle their day-to-day operations, automating much of the transactional work that humans do today.
- Banks will provide AI helpers for their customers — these will often work directly with customers' personal AIs.
- Governments will use AI to watch transactions in real-time, quickly catching and fixing problems, fraud or mistakes.
- People will have their own personal AI assistants that work for them and protect their interests.
While AI agents are improving rapidly and becoming cheaper, this will lead to a period where numerous AI agents from various companies compete to assist customer’s decision-making. The future requires trustworthy platforms where customers can confidently interact with AI agents that protect their privacy, security, and assets.
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All brand names, logos and/or trademarks are the property of their respective owners, are used for identification purposes only, and do not necessarily imply product endorsement or affiliation with Visa.
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