Mastercard In Crosshairs: Citrini Models AI Agents Bypassing Interchange As Stablecoins Threaten Card Economics - Mastercard (NYSE:MA)

In a Sunday macro note framed explicitly as a thought exercise, Citrini Research modeled a speculative scenario in which AI-driven commerce structurally undermines card network economics. Interchange in the CrosshairsThe central payments argument: AI agents optimizing consumer transactions around the clock would eventually identify the 2-3% card interchange rate as an obvious cost to eliminate. “Once agents controlled the transaction, they went looking for bigger paperclips,” wrote Citrini. In the scenario, ...