Wally Mlynarski, chief executive of Atlanta-based merchant payment services provider Elavon, argues that safety will drive the next phase of digital commerce rather than speed.
Fraud prevention lessons
Mlynarski said the payments industry has spent the last 25 years trying to stamp out fraud. That effort produced card verification value codes, Payment Card Industry data security standards, and keyed entry transaction rules, all designed to manage risk.
He worries the same mistakes could be made with agentic commerce. AI agents acting on behalf of customers have drawn liability concerns from CEOs at major banks, including JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon and PNC’s Bill Demchak.
“We could go screw that up again with agentic commerce, or we can actually focus on safety and soundness,” Mlynarski said during an interview at last week’s Money20/20 conference in Las Vegas.
Complex economics
The second lesson involves the economics of moving agents into the consumer flow. Mlynarski pointed to the mobile wallet wars of the 2010s as an example. Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, and Paze all struggled to make the economics work.
Now, agents must enter the chain that includes the consumer, merchant, acquirer, issuing bank, and networks. Mlynarski said taking money out of the pockets of participants in that chain will be difficult.
He believes the current wave of agent-led payments, such as Meta’s use of Stripe’s Link or OpenAI’s dots, ignores safety and soundness. Banks, by contrast, are prioritizing those factors as they sort out the necessary standards and protocols.
Building an ecosystem
Mlynarski returned to Elavon this year after leading merchant services and receivables at Bank of America. During that time, he helped shape Early Warning Services’ Paze mobile wallet.
Paze is ready for pilots and can function within agentic commerce. It also addresses issues like agent hallucination. Early Warning Services is owned by seven large U.S. banks, including U.S. Bank.
“We can create an ecosystem that does make this successful,” Mlynarski said. “And if we do that right and don’t race into it too quickly, consumers will have a good experience.”
However, rushing the rollout carries risks. “If we race into it and do it incorrectly,” he added, “consumers are going to be harmed.”
Connecting the dots
For U.S. Bank, the strategy also ties into broader growth goals. The bank relies on payments volume to bring in deposits, which supports its lending business. Mlynarski said Elavon acts as an accelerator for that cycle.
