These specialists favor two stocks, seeing AI-powered shopping as a key trend for 2026

AI-Powered Shopping Set to Reshape Payments by 2026

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Industry experts predict that agentic commerce—where artificial intelligence takes a central role in online shopping—will become a defining trend for payment processors in 2026.

Main Insights

• Oppenheimer’s fintech analysts highlight that AI-driven retail experiences are opening up fresh revenue streams for financial technology firms.
• Mastercard and Visa are identified as the leading large-cap companies poised to benefit from this shift.

Artificial intelligence is on the verge of revolutionizing how consumers browse and shop online, potentially boosting the prospects of select fintech stocks.

With AI agents increasingly managing the entire shopping process—from initial search to final payment—within a single chat or application, analysts believe Mastercard (MA) and Visa (V) are well-positioned to capitalize, outpacing competitors like PayPal (PYPL), Stripe, and Adyen.

The growth of agentic commerce relies on steady consumer spending, which has remained resilient despite concerns over employment and widespread layoffs. However, some companies have reported softness among lower-income customers. As a result, analysts favor payment providers with broad international reach and those less affected by fluctuations in consumer spending.

What This Means for Investors

Just as the internet once transformed retail, artificial intelligence is set to further reshape the shopping landscape, creating new market leaders and laggards.

“Agentic commerce, though still in its early stages, is likely to become a major focus in 2026 as fintech companies look for innovative ways to profit from the changing online shopping experience,” wrote Rayna Kumar and her colleagues at Oppenheimer in a recent report.

According to the analysts, AI agents will soon play a pivotal role in online shopping by offering tailored product suggestions and enabling seamless in-app purchases through integrated payment solutions.

This evolution could introduce consumers to payment processors they haven’t previously used. Nevertheless, Mastercard and Visa are working to ensure their platforms become the default choice for automated checkouts. Oppenheimer notes that the entire payment processing sector stands to benefit as agentic commerce increases consumer engagement and drives higher revenues.

Both Mastercard and Visa are investing in initiatives that enable AI agents to facilitate secure and customized transactions.

PayPal is also making strides in this area, partnering with AI leaders such as OpenAI and Google. However, Oppenheimer analysts remain cautious, maintaining a “perform” rating on PayPal due to its significant exposure to the retail sector. The company’s branded checkout volume growth has been hindered by reduced discretionary spending in key markets like the United States.

“We are taking a wait-and-see approach until PayPal’s growth strategies deliver stronger profits and consumer spending stabilizes,” Kumar and her team concluded.