The article discusses the growing role of AI agents in managing transactions and reservations, raising questions about the adaptability of existing payment systems like credit cards.
The article analyzes the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) agents on the transaction landscape, asserting that AI can now perform tasks previously done by humans, such as shopping, making reservations, and even processing payments. It highlights advancements like Moltbots, which handle tasks across various domains, and Rent-a-Human services that employ AI to fulfill more complex duties, indicating a shift towards a self-sufficient transaction environment driven by AI.
The discussion shifts to the current payment systems, particularly credit cards, questioning their capacity to handle the influx of transactions initiated by AI agents. The author provides statistics on Visa and Mastercard's transaction capabilities, with Visa processing approximately 8,000 transactions per second on average and having a maximum capacity of 83,000. This raises concerns about whether these long-standing financial mechanisms can withstand the dramatic increase in transaction volumes expected with the widespread adoption of AI agents in daily activities.
Using conservative estimates, the article projects that if just 50 million users employ multiple AI agents, the expected transaction volume could reach 350,000 per second, significantly exceeding the maximum capacities of the major credit card companies. With potentially 300 million users relying on such technology, the number of transactions could rise to an astonishing 7.35 million per second—this shows that the payment infrastructure may face unprecedented challenges as AI agents become more prevalent in enabling seamless transactions.
