Visa, a world leader in digital payments, today released the annual Stay Secure study in Pakistan, which assesses consumer awareness and behaviors around digital commerce and fraud. This year’s edition, conducted by Wakefield Research, highlights how AI‑enabled shopping and social commerce are changing consumer behavior even as expectations around trust and protection remain firmly in place.
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Consumers Embrace AI-Assisted Shopping
Consumers are embracing artificial intelligence as part of their shopping journeys – 82% in Pakistan have used AI tools to assist with shopping, including comparing prices (56%), finding gift ideas (47%), and checking reviews or product ratings (53%).
The appeal is clear: 93% feel new technologies, including AI-powered tools, are making online shopping faster and easier than before. AI is also influencing discovery, with 55% typically discovering new brands or retailers while shopping online.
However, consumers remain more cautious when it comes to AI handling transactions on their behalf. Today, only 42% would trust AI agents to complete checkout, reinforcing the importance of earning consumer trust in the age of agentic commerce.
As AI adoption grows, consumers increasingly view the technology as part of the solution to fraud. Around 65% of respondents feel AI has made scams easier to recognize today and 87% believe AI will play a critical role in protecting consumers from fraud in the future.
Social Commerce is Growing, but so are Scam Risks
Shopping through social platforms has become mainstream, with 82% of consumers in Pakistan having purchased products directly through social media platforms. As commerce expands across new channels, fraud risks continue to follow consumers online. 55% have experienced a financial scam in the past 12 months. Among those who have experienced a scam, 44% report the incident occurred on social media, more than those who encounter scams on other platforms such as websites, online marketplaces, or shopping apps.
Children are Increasingly Exposed to Scams While Shopping and Gaming Online
The study also highlights growing concern around how children encounter scams online, with 77% of consumers reporting that children in their lives struggle to recognize scams. A significant 33% have seen a child fall victim to a scam while gaming or shopping online.
That concern comes as children gain greater access to digital commerce. 44% of Pakistani parents have children who can access mobile payment apps or digital wallets.
Consumers Expect Institutions to Lead on Fraud Protection
When it comes to protecting against fraud while shopping online, consumers look first to institutions rather than themselves. 49% believe payment providers and online marketplaces should be primarily responsible, followed by government authorities or regulators (36%) and banks or financial institutions (31%). Only 13% believe consumers themselves should hold primary responsibility.
They also want more proactive reassurance. 51% would feel secure receiving real-time alerts from their bank or payment app when something looks suspicious, while 33% would feel more comfortable seeing a familiar, trusted logo at checkout.
“In Pakistan, we are seeing strong momentum as consumers embrace digital commerce, with AI and social platforms becoming an increasingly integral part of how people discover and shop. At the same time, the findings highlight a clear and consistent priority across our markets: trust. As digital ecosystems evolve, consumers are looking for experiences that not only offer greater convenience but also deliver confidence and control at every step of the journey.
As we move towards more agentic, AI-driven commerce, the opportunity for our region is to unlock inclusive growth by embedding trust at scale. At Visa, we are focused on working with our partners to strengthen secure digital ecosystems, through advanced technology, real-time protections, and secure-by-design innovation, so that the future of commerce across the region is seamless, resilient, and trusted by everyone,” said Leila Serhan, Senior Vice President and Group Country Manager, North Africa, Levant and Pakistan at Visa.
She continued, “As commerce moves toward more agentic, AI-powered experiences, the study shows that consumers are embracing the convenience AI can bring to shopping but remain cautious when it comes to AI completing purchases on their behalf. With Visa Intelligent Commerce, we are helping enable the next era of commerce built on trust, control and confidence.”
To learn more about building trust for a new era of commerce, read the full Visa Stay Secure 2026 Pakistan report here: https://pk.visamiddleeast.com/content/dam/VCOM/regional/cemea/pakistan/pay-with-visa/security-and-assistance/stay-secure/stay-secure-survey-pakistan.pdf