Germans Open to AI Agents in Shopping

Mastercard has already processed its first autonomous transactions via AI agents and introduced a platform called Agent Pay, designed to set new security and authentication standards. The system registers and verifies AI agents and integrates them into existing payment networks, Lebensmittelpraxis reports.

More than one-third of respondents are open to cashier-free stores, where purchases would be automatically assigned and billed via facial recognition. Half of those aged 30–39 find this option appealing. Self-checkout systems are already accepted by over three-quarters of the population, with simplicity, full basket scanning, and automated age verification seen as key features.

Contactless payment has become standard: seven out of ten Germans use it, three-quarters at least weekly. One-third already pay with smartphones or smartwatches, rising to 57 percent among 18–29-year-olds. Just three years ago, the figure was 26 percent overall. Today, nine out of ten consumers expect digital payment options, and two-thirds of young adults have left a store because such options were unavailable.