Visa and blockchain analytics firm Artemis have released a joint research report predicting that stablecoins will play a central role in machine-to-machine micropayments as AI agents increasingly handle transactions autonomously. The report, titled "Agentic Payments from the Ground Up," divides the emerging agentic economy into macro-commerce (consumer-sized purchases like travel booking) and micro-commerce (frequent sub-dollar transactions between software services).
The research argues that traditional card networks remain efficient for larger consumer purchases but their fixed processing costs make tiny payments uneconomical. In contrast, blockchain networks now offer settlement costs of fractions of a cent, making stablecoins a more practical option for machine-native micropayments. Visa emphasizes this is not an either/or scenario: "In all likelihood, this won't come down to a choice between cards and stablecoins. Both will have a place," the company stated.
The report envisions hybrid payment flows where AI agents use card rails for consumer-facing transactions and stablecoins for repeated low-value software payments. Visa also notes increasing convergence, with card initiatives adding stablecoin support and crypto-native platforms incorporating trust features. The company's long-term strategy combines card-based authorization and security with blockchain settlement.
Legal and trust hurdles remain significant. Existing regulations assume human authorization and traditional dispute processes cannot handle thousands of automated transactions per hour. Visa has been building tools such as Visa Intelligent Commerce and an Agentic Directory, and earlier partnered with OpenAI for secure AI payments. Additionally, Visa joined the Open Standard consortium alongside Mastercard and Coinbase to develop Open USD, a business-focused stablecoin, and has expanded stablecoin settlement across its network, reporting a $7 billion annualized run rate and over 160 stablecoin-linked card programs. Earlier this week, Visa also launched a co-branded credit card with HashKey Exchange in Hong Kong, enabling crypto reward conversions.
