Banks Warn of Fraud, Data Exposure and Payment Risks as AI Takes a Bigger Role in Online Purchases
New Delhi, September 23. (SDNA) — Artificial intelligence is rapidly moving beyond product searches and recommendations to playing a more active role in online shopping. AI-powered shopping agents can increasingly understand a consumer’s requirements, search for products, compare alternatives and, in some cases, assist in completing purchases.
The growing use of such agentic commerce, however, is raising fresh concerns among major banks over financial fraud, misuse of personal information and uncertainty over who would be responsible if an AI-driven transaction goes wrong.
According to a Reuters report, banks including NatWest, Bank of America, ING, Capital One, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and New Zealand’s ASB Bank have raised concerns about the emerging risks associated with AI-enabled shopping.
When AI Starts Making Purchase Decisions
Traditional shopping tools generally assist consumers by providing search results or recommendations. AI agents can potentially go a step further by making selections based on a user’s preferences and helping execute the transaction.
That creates a different set of risks.
If an AI agent selects an unsuitable product, spends more than the customer intended or directs the transaction to a questionable website or payment service, the financial consequences could ultimately fall on the consumer.
Another unresolved issue is accountability. Consumers may not always know whether responsibility for an incorrect or fraudulent transaction rests with the AI provider, retailer, payment service or the customer.
AI-Driven Shopping Traffic Is Growing
The shift towards AI-assisted shopping is already visible in online retail behaviour.
British retailer John Lewis has reported a significant rise in searches originating from AI agents. According to figures cited in the report, the share of such searches increased from 0.3 per cent to 2.5 per cent in a year.
While the overall share remains relatively small, the increase indicates that consumers are beginning to use AI systems not merely to find information but also to obtain direct assistance with purchasing decisions.
Payment Security Becomes a Major Concern
For banks, the issue goes beyond the possibility of an AI agent simply choosing the wrong product.
A more significant concern involves the handling of payment credentials and sensitive financial information.
An AI agent may potentially request or process card details and enter information directly into a merchant’s website. If the system redirects a customer towards a payment method offering weaker consumer protections, recovering money after fraud could become more complicated.
The growing involvement of AI in financial transactions therefore creates questions about authentication, liability, transaction monitoring and consumer protection.
Retailers Compete for AI Recommendations
The rise of AI shopping is also changing the competitive landscape for retailers.
For years, businesses have invested heavily in search engine optimisation, or SEO, to ensure their products appear prominently on platforms such as Google. With AI increasingly influencing purchasing decisions, companies are now also looking at how their products are represented in AI-generated recommendations.
This could create a new form of digital competition in which retailers seek visibility not only in conventional search results but also within the decision-making processes of AI shopping assistants.
Banks Seek Greater Transparency
Banks and financial institutions are calling for clearer safeguards as AI-driven commerce develops.
Among the measures being discussed are greater transparency about transactions initiated or influenced by AI agents, clearer identification of AI involvement in payments and stronger safeguards for customer data.
Banks have also highlighted the importance of giving consumers and merchants greater choice over which AI shopping systems they use.
Interoperability between different AI-based commerce platforms is another issue being discussed, particularly as consumers may increasingly use AI services from different providers during a single shopping journey.
New Rules May Need to Evolve Alongside the Technology
AI shopping agents have the potential to make online commerce faster and more convenient, but the technology is developing faster than many existing consumer-protection frameworks.
The central concern for banks is therefore not necessarily whether AI should be used for shopping, but how transactions involving autonomous or semi-autonomous AI systems should be secured and regulated.
For consumers, the emerging environment makes basic precautions increasingly important. Before allowing an AI agent to assist with a purchase, users may need to understand what personal or financial information the system can access, which websites it can interact with, what purchasing authority it has and which payment method will ultimately be used.
As AI becomes more deeply integrated into e-commerce, the balance between convenience, automation and financial security is likely to become an increasingly important issue for consumers, banks, retailers and technology companies.
— SDNA