London, April 30, 2026, 18:05 BST
On Thursday, Experian PLC rolled out an AI commerce trust framework, aiming to authenticate connections between consumers and the software agents expected to shop and check out in their stead.
FTSE 100-listed data giant Experian is working with Visa, Cloudflare, and Skyfire to launch Experian Agent Trust. The new tool is designed to help businesses determine when an AI agent represents an actual, verified individual.
That timing is no accident. Payment networks and tech companies are in a scramble to lay down the foundation for “agentic commerce”—where AI systems, rather than people, initiate or finish transactions with less hands-on effort. Visa rolled out its Intelligent Commerce Connect this month, aiming to let agent developers, payment providers and merchants tap into AI-powered shopping via a single integration. Visa Investor Relations
There’s a reason investors are paying attention. Experian’s shares in London finished Thursday up 1.24% at 2,689 pence, pulling higher after dipping earlier in the week. Next up for the company: full-year results due May 20.
The service rolls out a “Know Your Agent” approach, widening identity verification to cover AI agents as well as individuals. According to Experian, its Human-to-Agent Binding links a verified person, their device, and the AI agent, issuing a trust token in real time. That digital proof is then used to assess both identity and the risk of a transaction. Experian
“Agentic commerce will not scale without trust,” said Kathleen Peters, chief innovation officer at Experian. Peters pointed out that it’s not just about verifying the agent—it’s also confirming who the actual human is, along with their intent to purchase. Experian
Experian is positioning Agent Trust as more than just another fraud filter. According to the company, the new product operates alongside current payment systems and maintains a trackable log showing user identity and agent behavior as time passes. Experian also claims its identity verification and fraud-fighting technology saves clients somewhere in the range of $15 billion to $19 billion in fraud losses each year.
“Visa has spent decades earning trust across global commerce,” said Visa executive Rubail Birwadker. Cloudflare’s Chief Strategy Officer Stephanie Cohen described the surge of AI agents as “one of the most significant shifts” in digital commerce. For Skyfire CEO Amir Sarhangi, the goal behind the collaboration is to link identity and payments through a unified trust layer. Business Wire
This isn’t just another product rollout—it’s a race to define the standards. The FIDO Alliance, on April 28, announced the creation of its Agentic Authentication Technical Working Group, now working on specs for agent-initiated commerce. Early input includes Google’s Agent Payments Protocol, plus Mastercard’s Verifiable Intent framework. Google, for its part, said it’s giving AP2 to FIDO to keep things platform-agnostic and community-driven.
But there’s no certainty it’ll catch on. According to Visa’s developer docs, merchants have a history of flagging automated web traffic as bots, so they’ll need ways to tell trusted commerce agents from the bad actors. Experian’s framework, then, hangs on whether merchants sign on, payment networks get on board, and if the industry can hammer out standards quickly enough.
Experian’s pushing further after a growth spurt, though the pressure hasn’t let up. Back in January, the company said third-quarter revenue climbed 12% at actual rates, 10% in constant currency, and 8% organically—that last number cuts out the impact of acquisitions and currency swings. North America pulled in 68% of group revenue during the previous half-year.
In a separate disclosure Thursday, Experian reported 900,000,043 voting rights as of April 30, once 56,683,651 treasury shares were factored out. The company also noted in another filing that 1,077 ordinary shares were issued and admitted to trading over April under its existing block admissions, putting the total number of admitted ordinary shares at 956,683,694.
Right now, Agent Trust lets Experian pitch itself as more than a credit-data outfit—it’s positioning as an AI-trust layer is front and center. The challenge? Convincing merchants, agents, and payment processors to nail down what trust actually means once the human buyer isn’t physically at the checkout anymore.
