Not that long ago, the idea of AI agents making purchases for humans sounded like science fiction. Booking flights, renewing subscriptions, filling shopping carts… all before we even ask. But today, this is happening faster than many realise. Autonomous agents can now browse, compare, and buy on behalf of consumers. For merchants, this is a new type of traffic – one that looks human and pays like a customer… but isn’t. Herein lies (another) new problem: how do merchants tell
As I walked down a local high street the other day, the same one I’ve known for years, something looked off. Where once vibrant shopfronts stood, were gaps. There were ‘To Let’ signs on display instead of goods, and familiar names disappearing. Storefronts shuttered and lights off. Across the UK, and indeed globally, it is becoming increasingly likely to see shops closing their doors. The high street is shrinking as many retailers give up completely on their physical presence
Card Issuers today are fighting a battle across four fronts: False positives  that block good customers and bleed interchange Card-not-present (CNP) fraud losses can run six to ten times higher than card present Operational drag  from disputes, card reissues, and call centre costs Cardholder churn  when customers are denied You don’t see all of these on one line of the P&L, but together they erode margin every single day. Now picture a different world. Every e-commerce purch