Battle Over KYA Standards Heats Up as Visa and Ethereum Players Target AI Agent Identity

Agentic Commerce allows software agents to compare prices, negotiate and place orders on consumers’ behalf, meaning payment verification can no longer focus solely on confirming the account holder. Providers are extending KYC to include KYA and “Know Your Human,” combining identity, the scope of authorization and transaction intent to prevent agents from being impersonated or bots from exploiting loopholes.

Recent reporting shows that payment providers are incorporating Know Your Human into verification processes to identify the person behind an AI agent and confirm that person’s authorization before the agent executes a transaction. Available information does not identify any specific institution, amount or date. What can be confirmed is that verification is shifting from a one-off identity check to continuous validation of the agent, the person behind it and the intent of each transaction.