EPAA Launches AI Agent Payment Working Group in Asia Pacific, HSBC Joins as Founding Member

The Emerging Payments Association Asia (EPAA) has launched an AI and Agent Payment Working Group, with HSBC as a founding member. The group will bring together banks, payment networks, fintech companies, and technology platforms to develop industry standards covering agent identity, authentication and authorization, fraud prevention, dispute handling, and liability allocation.

The working group will also engage in an 18-month policy dialogue with relevant regulators from ASEAN and APEC, with plans to submit formal policy recommendations by November 2027.

This collaboration signals that agent payments are moving from transactional pilots into a rule-setting phase. Industry focus is shifting from “Can AI make payments?” to fundamental questions that determine scalable adoption: Who authorizes? How is verification done? And who is liable when boundaries are overstepped?