As payments executives wrestle with fast-moving trends in AI-driven commerce and in cryptocurrency, particularly stablecoins, card networks are gearing up to win more business in both markets. And network executives see those trends accelerating, creating opportunities to grab market share if they act fast.

“Agentic commerce is the next evolution in payments, a significant opportunity for Mastercard,” said Mastercard chief executive Michael Miebach early Thursday. “It means more transactions.” More important for networks like Mastercard, “we expect cards will prevail in an agentic world,” he told equity analysts during a review of his company’s June-quarter results. In agentic commerce, bits of code called AI agents shop and pay on the Internet on behalf of consumers.

Nor is Mastercard ignoring a similar opportunity in stablecoins, a form of cryptocurrency that mirrors the value of underlying fiat money, such as the U.S. dollar. Mastercard already handles settlement of stablecoins on its network, Miebach stressed, but it’s going farther with its pending acquisition of BVNK, a London-based company that enables merchants to accept stablecoins at checkout with conversion to the local fiat money. Mastercard has agreed to pay $1.5 billion for the company, with a contingent earnout of $300 million. The deal is expected to settle by year’s end.

“We still need conversion to fiat, and that’s what BNVK will do for us,” Miebach said. “We’re very excited about it.” Still, he added, a stablecoin capability “isn’t the answer to everything.” Mastercard, like its rival Visa, has been active in digital currencies for several years, and now, Miebach said, the network’s crypto volume has tripled over the past two years. “There’s a clear need for stablecoins,” he told the analysts on the call, singling out peer-to-peer transactions as a focus.

Miebach’s summary of the discussion boiled down to one declaration: “Agentic commerce and stablecoins will shape the future of payments,” with cards remaining an essential medium for both.

For the quarter, Mastercard reported $2.88 trillion in global transaction volume, up 9% from the same period last year. U.S. volume came to $858 billion, up 5.5%. The network reported 739 million cards (Mastercard and Maestro) in circulation in the U.S., up 4.8%; worldwide, 3.46 billion cards, a 7.2% increase. Net revenue totaled $9.3 billion, a 12% increase, with net income totaling $4.4 billion, up 16%.