The infrastructure shift: AI agents, consolidation, and stablecoins

We are seeing a fundamental shift in how money moves. It is no longer just about optimizing a checkout form for a human on an iPhone. It is about preparing for automated agents, cross-border rails that actually work, and the "consumerization" of B2B finance.

Here is our take on the latest shifts in the market and what they mean for payment architects.

1. The buyer is becoming a bot

The data for Christmas 2025 is already pointing in one direction: 47% of consumers plan to use AI agents for their shopping.

For years, we obsessed over UI friction: button placement, colors, and loading spinners. But when nearly half of the market starts offloading purchasing decisions to software, your UI matters less than your API reliability.

If you are building payment infrastructure today, you need to ask: Can my checkout flow handle high-frequency, machine-triggered requests without flagging them all as fraud? The focus is moving from "visual conversion" to "technical availability."

2. Consilidation in FinTech continues

Mollie is acquiring GoCardless in a €1.1bn deal.

On paper, this makes sense. You merge Mollie’s strength in card acquiring with GoCardless’ dominance in Direct Debit. It creates a massive user base of 350,000 merchants.

But for platforms relying on these providers, mergers often bring a period of technical stagnation. While they figure out how to merge two massive, distinct codebases and compliance frameworks, innovation usually slows down.

If you rely heavily on a single PSP that is currently going through M&A, now is the time to review your redundancy plans.

3. Crypto is finally becoming infrastructure

Stripe has acquired Valora and their crypto unit is partnering with Klarna. At the same time, we see stablecoins gaining traction as the standard for cross-border payments.

Forget the speculative noise around crypto. This is about settlement rails.

Traditional cross-border payments are slow, expensive, and opaque. Stablecoins offer near-instant settlement and lower fees. When a giant like Stripe doubles down on this, it signals that crypto is moving from a "feature" to a backend necessity.

If you deal with international payouts or global marketplaces, stablecoins are no longer an experiment. They are becoming a serious option.

4. B2B payments catch up to B2C

JPMorgan’s payments division just put €100 million into Mondu.

For a long time, B2B payments were stuck in the dark ages of manual invoices and 60-day terms. Mondu brings the "Buy Now, Pay Later" mechanics to B2B.

The fact that a conservative giant like JPMorgan is backing this proves the demand is real. Corporate clients expect the same flexibility they get when buying sneakers online. If your B2B checkout flow still feels like filling out a tax form, you are already behind.

Summary

The common thread here is maturity:

• AI agents demand better APIs.

• Consolidation demands better architectural redundancy.

• Stablecoins are fixing cross-border inefficiencies.

• B2B BNPL is fixing cash flow friction.

Do not get distracted by the hype. Focus on the plumbing. If the infrastructure isn't solid, it doesn't matter what features you build on top.