🚀 Fintech Weekly Newsletter — “AI Takes the Wallet: The Rise of Agentic Payments” 🗓 Date: Friday, February 20, 2026
1. Top Headlines (Last 7 Days)
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Coinbase Launches Agentic Wallets Enabling AI-Driven Payments — Finextra Coinbase has rolled out Agentic Wallets, a new digital wallet infrastructure that lets AI agents autonomously hold funds and execute payments under pre-set policies, shifting payments toward programmable workflows and machine-to-machine commerce. This could redefine how value moves across digital ecosystems. Coinbase’s Agentic Wallets Impact Digital Finance and Payments – Finextra
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When AI Agents Pay: Compliance Liability in Question — Finextra With agentic wallets live, regulatory and compliance frameworks are struggling to keep up. Key debate: who is accountable when an AI agent initiates and settles transactions without human confirmation? This has major implications for risk management and payment regulation. When AI Agents Pay – Who Owns the Compliance Liability? – Finextra
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AI in Action — Banking Tech Awards USA Highlights Tangible AI Impact — FinTech Futures The Banking Tech Awards USA spotlighted real, measurable results from AI deployment in banking — from customer engagement to operational automation, showing AI’s transition from concept to live production value. AI in Action: Celebrating Tangible Results and Measurable Impact – FinTech Futures
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AI and the Future of Payments: Industry Trends Webinar — FinTech Futures Upcoming webinar discussions centre on how stablecoins, tokenisation, and programmable money are shaping the future of cashless payments — crucial for financial institutions preparing for 24/7 real-time rail connectivity. The Future of Payments: Trends Shaping a Cashless World – FinTech Futures
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Emergence of Agentic Commerce in E-Commerce — Finextra Agentic commerce — where AI systems transact independently on behalf of businesses and consumers — is highlighted as a profound shift for both payments and commerce layers. The Emergence of Agentic Commerce – Finextra
(Note: Only recently published direct links included; content wall or paywalled items may not be shown.)
2. In-Depth Highlight: Coinbase’s Agentic Wallets
This week’s biggest fintech breakthrough comes from Coinbase’s launch of Agentic Wallets, a new class of digital wallets tailored for AI agents that can autonomously manage funds and perform financial actions under pre-defined policies without manual approval. Unlike traditional wallets, which require human signature or real-time consent, agentic wallets shift control toward programmable instructions that allow AI to execute payments, contracts, and machine-to-machine transactions — a paradigm that could underpin a machine economy. (Finextra Research)
This matters because it moves AI integration in finance beyond insight and automation toward execution and control. Payments, treasury tasks, and commerce flows could soon be driven by software agents acting independently within guardrails set by humans. However, this technical leap creates regulatory ambiguity, particularly around compliance responsibilities when an AI agent makes a transaction. The rapid adoption may outpace legal frameworks, posing risks for institutions and fintech innovators. (Finextra Research)
Key players include Coinbase and broader payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, and companies building agent protocols, signalling a trend where legacy financial rails and programmable pseudorails converge. Market impact could be massive: programmable payments may penetrate B2B APIs, real-time rails, and digital wallet infrastructure, driving new opportunities in embedded finance, micropayments, autonomous commerce, and Web3 financial systems.
3. Market & Industry Insight
AI-Powered Payments & Agentic Finance Are Going Live
2026 is shaping into the year where AI moves from support function to participant in financial systems. Traditional AI in fintech has focused on insights — detecting fraud, scoring credit, and personalising user experiences. Now, agentic architectures are enabling AI to take action, such as executing payments, handling API costs, and participating in decentralized finance ecosystems directly. This shift is significant because it changes how value flows across digital systems — from manual, batched approval processes to automated policy-driven execution. (Finextra Research)
However, this shift also highlights a critical industry inflection point: compliance and governance lag adoption. Current regulatory frameworks assume a human actor is responsible for initiating payments. With autonomous agents, liability, AML/KYC checks, and dispute resolution mechanisms need re-thinking. This tension between innovation and regulation is now at the forefront of industry discussions. (Finextra Research)
Digital Wallets Evolve Beyond Storage to Execution
Digital wallets — long seen as repositories for cards and funds — are now evolving into execution platforms where programmable money, stablecoins, and autonomous agents interact. This could transform user experiences: wallets could proactively manage subscriptions, settle micropayments with vendors, and handle cross-border funds in real-time, enhancing both user utility and merchant engagements.
4. Company & Startup Spotlight
Coinbase
What they do: A leading cryptocurrency exchange and digital asset infrastructure provider. Recent development: Launched Agentic Wallets that empower AI agents to autonomously execute financial actions. Why it matters: Coinbase’s move signals a broader shift toward machine-participation in financial systems and may catalyse adoption of programmable payments across crypto, DeFi, and Web3 ecosystems. (Finextra Research)
Finova (Banking Tech Awards USA Highlight)
What they do: Banking tech provider deploying AI in core banking systems. Recent development: Recognised for tangible AI impact, particularly in customer engagement and internal automation workflows. Why it matters: Demonstrates where practical, real-world AI implementations are working today — emphasising measurable business value. (FinTech Futures)
5. Regulatory & Policy Watch
- Compliance Challenges with AI-Driven Payments: As autonomous agents begin to transact independently, regulators are questioning traditional liability frameworks for AML, KYC, and transaction oversight. (Finextra Research)
- Stablecoin & Tokenisation Focus: Upcoming industry discussions emphasise stablecoins and programmable money as core components of digital rails shaping payments infrastructure this year. (FinTech Futures)
6. Quote of the Day
“When an AI agent initiates a payment, who is legally and operationally responsible for making sure that transaction is compliant?” — (Finextra commentary on emerging agentic payments compliance) (Finextra Research)
7. What’s Next
- 📅 Banking Tech Awards USA 2026 Gala: May 28, 2026 — Celebrating AI’s role in finance. (FinTech Futures)
- 🎙 Webinar: The Future of Payments: Ongoing 2026 discussion series on payments rails and programmable money. (FinTech Futures)
- 💡 Industry Focus: Evolving regulatory frameworks for AI payments and compliance are top of the agenda across policymaker and fintech circles.
