India’s payment firms build AI commerce rails as e-commerce platforms hold back

Indian payments companies are developing transaction infrastructure for AI agents, but e-commerce platforms remain wary of opening discovery and checkout flows over disintermediation, margin and security concerns. Executives expect fully autonomous commerce to be at least two to three years away.

— Source publishedWed, 22 Jul, 2026, 20:37 IST·First seen Wed, 22 Jul, 2026, 20:39 IST·Source Business Standard · Companies

What happened

India digital payments companies · Indian payments firms are building AI-agent transaction rails but say e-commerce platforms are reluctant to open discovery

Key facts

  • 2-3 years
  • India has a dozen digital marketplaces

Why this matters

Payments firms and commerce platforms should pursue partnerships around secure agent authentication, consent and settlement before attempting to disintermediate marketplace discovery.