Did you know that AI we use today is advancing beyond just answering questions? It is becoming a “personal assistant” that humans are enabling to make decisions, earn money, and spend on our behalf.
Multiple sources indicate that AI Agents are playing a larger role in daily life, such as automatically booking travel and purchasing goods for users. Soon, these agents are expected to manage entire complex transactions, including negotiating prices, setting terms, handling delivery and returns, and conducting dealings with other agents instantly.
Adobe data shows a significant rise in AI-powered browser and service use during the 2024 year-end shopping season. On Black Friday 2025, AI-driven traffic to U.S. retail websites surged 805% compared to the previous year. These agents contributed over $22 billion in global online sales. Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum projects that the economy powered by Agentic AI will reach $236 billion by 2034.
However, while this transition offers business opportunities—where future customers may no longer be humans—the rise of AI Agents acting on humans’ behalf and collaborating with other agents introduces equally significant risks.
Without proper safeguards, agents could quickly undermine trust as fast as they boost efficiency, potentially turning systems designed to grow the economy into factors that damage it.
Therefore, the world needs infrastructure to verify “identity” and enhance “accountability” to determine whether today’s Agentic Commerce will drive global economic wealth or become a new frontier for unprecedented fraud, as humans no longer transact directly.
Historically, we faced similar challenges during the global financial expansion of the 1970s and 1980s, when cross-border money flows outpaced trust and accountability systems.
To address this, the “Know Your Customer” or KYC framework was established, requiring financial institutions to verify customer identities and monitor transactions. Although KYC cannot eliminate all fraud or financial crime, it laid the foundation for trust and accountability by making identity verification a prerequisite for system participation.
Today, a similar trust gap is reemerging on a magnified scale under Agentic Commerce. To address this shift, a new framework has been developed called “Know Your Agent” or “KYA” which will operate alongside traditional KYC processes.
Thairath Money—Thailand’s exclusive media partner for Money20/20 Asia 2026—spoke with MetaComp about the KYA concept after MetaComp announced the launch of the “StableX Know Your Agent Framework,” claiming to be the world’s first framework designed specifically for financial service providers.
MetaComp is a licensed digital asset and financial infrastructure provider based in Singapore, aiming to connect traditional finance (TradFi) with the digital asset ecosystem. It focuses on institutional and business clients, offering a platform for secure, transparent digital asset access under clear regulatory oversight.
When asked why KYA is necessary, Tin Pei Ling who serves as Co-President of MetaComp and is a former Singaporean Member of Parliament, stated, “This framework is the world’s first AI Agent regulatory framework in finance, designed to address risks when AI conducts transactions on behalf of humans.”
The Know Your Agent framework comprises four key components:
“Soon, Agentic AI will make financial services more accessible. For example, older adults who are less tech-savvy can simply instruct in natural language, like ‘transfer 1,000 baht to this account,’ and AI will handle all complex processes behind the scenes.”
“But the most important element is trust, which requires strong regulatory frameworks to ensure technology grows responsibly and with social accountability.” Tin Pei Ling added.
Moreover, to ensure these four pillars operate sustainably, MetaComp adapts principles from Singapore’s IMDA for the financial sector as follows:
According tothe World Economic Forum,humans are becoming a “minority voice” online, with bots generating nearly 50% of internet traffic, one-third of which are “bad bots.” Serious action is needed to avoid worst-case scenarios.
Governments must upgrade identity infrastructure and remove outdated legal barriers that hinder fraud data sharing. Public systems should focus on identity verification, not just document checks.
Although global uniform regulations are challenging, establishing minimum standards for trust and interoperability is essential and feasible, since agents cross borders and regulation must keep pace. Transparency and data sharing must become foundational.
Organizations must elevate agent identity as a top security priority, implementing clear authorization systems with audit trails. Interaction with external agents requires reliable verification tools.
Standard-setting bodies should accelerate development of globally interoperable KYA protocols and collaborate with regulators to ensure alignment. The goal is to create a “Universal Trust Layer,” akin to SSL for websites, enabling seamless agent commerce while adding friction for malicious actors.
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