It starts like every good rom-com: a new character enters the scene – Agentic AI – sharp, responsive, and captivating. The check-out experience may have had the first date, but Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) and traditional credit cards are now vying for attention. 

Handled correctly, Agentic AI creates a golden opportunity for BNPL providers like Klarna and Affirm to embed their offers in the shopping experience. But it also opens the door for traditional credit card providers to re-enter the race by allowing them to engage with the customer as they select products, rather than post-checkout. 

We may well be witnessing the start of a payments-era love triangle, as cards and BNPL compete for a place in the agent-led future of commerce.

Act One: Enter the Agent – and the Instant Credit Offers

Imagine you’re shopping for a £500 TV. You ask your AI Agent to find the best option based on your preferences. It scours the web and presents a shortlist. Now comes the interesting part: financing the purchase.

The Agent might say:

• “If you plan to pay off within 60 days, Klarna or Affirm offer interest-free instalments.”
• “Your credit card provider offers a 3, 6, or 12-month plan for £5 a month, would you like to use that?”
• “One retailer has its own promo: three months free credit. Are you interested?”

This is no longer a clunky afterthought at checkout. The credit offer becomes a contextualised, upfront part of the conversation. The consumer can ask questions, evaluate options, and select their preferred financing – right before purchase intent crystallises. 

For BNPL providers, this feels like a natural next step. They’re already surfacing real-time offers and integrating seamlessly into the online shopping experience. Klarna, for example, has 150 million users and its own app where consumers can browse and purchase with flexible payments already embedded. 

But for traditional credit issuers, this could be a seismic shift. Historically, credit card providers only learn about a consumer’s purchase intent post-authorisation when it’s too late to influence the decision. With agents, they have a chance to be present at the exact point of decision-making to influence consumer buyer behaviour.

And this is only the beginning. As consumers share richer data (credit limits, APRs, recent transactions, income) agents could begin making more tailored recommendations, comparing existing credit lines, or even onboarding consumers to new ones in real time.

Act Two: The Tech Titans Pull the Strings

On the AI side, Apple and Google seem best positioned to support these new instant credit use cases. They already own key moments in the browsing and payment journey, hold consumers’ payment credentials, and are actively developing AI-powered assistant technologies. It’s hard to see OpenAI, despite its innovation, matching Apple or Google’s role in payments.

In terms of the credit players, BNPL brands like Klarna and Affirm have an obvious head start. Their products are frictionless, and they’ve already forged relationships with the major digital ecosystems. The credit models BNPL providers have built are designed for low-friction, short-term financing – perfectly suited to the agent experience. 

Traditional credit providers, however, face a more challenging road ahead. While they benefit from existing Google and Apple commercial and technical integrations, delivering tailored, real-time credit offers and onboarding new customers at speed will require major system overhauls and new data strategies.

Act Three: Love Comes with Baggage

Of course, these developments are not without risk. Consumer trust will be paramount. Shoppers need to believe that their agent is recommending the best credit option for them, not just the one that pays the highest commission.

There are also regulatory minefields to navigate. When does an agent cross the line into offering financial advice? And how do we protect financially vulnerable customers from being nudged toward unsuitable credit arrangements?

These issues are both complex and critical. But they’re not reasons to stall progress. Instead, they are challenges the industry must solve together to unlock the full potential of this AI-led future.

Final Scene: The Start of a New Romance?

Agentic AI is poised to reshape the way we shop and how we finance these purchases. For BNPL providers, it’s an opportunity to cement their relevance in the next phase of commerce. For traditional credit players, it’s a chance to re-enter the conversation, but only if they act decisively and invest in transformation.

As for how this love triangle between agents, BNPL, and card providers plays out? That story is just getting started.