馃嚥馃嚘MoroccoNorth Africa
AI to transform online payments and shopping experience, Visa forum highlights
via Le Matin13 min read
The future of online payments and shopping will be reshaped by artificial intelligence, according to discussions at the Visa Payments Forum 2026 in Paris. The event highlighted a shift towards "agentic commerce," where AI agents will perform purchases on behalf of consumers, potentially making the act of payment and even shopping itself invisible. This vision moves beyond current digital assistants, with AI agents managing transactions based on user preferences, spending limits, and loyalty programs, effectively buying what the user "would buy." Visa executives, including President Oliver Jenkyn and Technology President Rajat Taneja, emphasized that the industry is experiencing multiple simultaneous revolutions, including generative AI, blockchain, and stablecoins. This complexity requires banks to integrate AI while preparing for new digital currencies, and merchants to adapt platforms for AI-driven consumer interactions. A key challenge identified is ensuring trust, not just in the payer's identity, but in the AI agent's intent and adherence to user-defined rules. Visa is developing tools like Agent Score to help merchants assess their readiness for AI agents and Agentic Directory to verify legitimate agents and merchants. The company stresses that innovation in security means making controls invisible to the user, relying on technologies like tokenization to embed trust and context directly into transactions. Tokenization, already prevalent in mobile payments, is expected
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Hosting mega-sporting events like the World Cup or Olympics now involves more than just accommodating teams and spectators; it's about boosting a country's appeal, accelerating infrastructure projects, and integrating urban centers into global tourism and transport networks. For Morocco, this perspective is crucial for the 2030 World Cup. Eduardo Amaral Haddad identifies six host cities鈥擱abat, Casablanca, Tangier, Agadir, Marrakech, and F猫s鈥攚hich collectively represent about 80% of the national GDP. This highlights the importance of the competition leveraging Morocco's key economic areas, while also raising questions about distributing benefits across the country. Haddad emphasizes that stadiums alone are insufficient; their impact depends on the surrounding ecosystem of transport, services, hospitality, and sustainable uses that extend beyond the event. While a sports venue attracts attention, long-term effects are built through infrastructure that improves circulation, access to services, visitor reception, inter-city connections, and regional productivity. The challenge isn't just meeting competition standards but ensuring sports investments transform daily life in cities, regions, or the country after the event. Mega-events have varying territorial impacts. A World Cup typically distributes investments across multiple host cities, potentially leading to broader but also uneven benefits due to differing levels of infrastructure and connectivity. The Olympics, conversely, c
Must ReadMorocco's national team, the Atlas Lions, advanced to the quarter-finals of the World Cup 2026 after a decisive 3-0 victory against Canada at Houston Stadium on Saturday. Despite facing an aggressive Canadian defense in the first half, the Atlas Lions demonstrated remarkable control to overcome one of the host nations after the break. Goals from Azzedine Ounahi, who scored twice, and Soufiane Rahimi in added time, solidified their qualification. This strong performance sets up a quarter-final match against France, which is anticipated to be a highly competitive encounter.
Following Morocco's qualification for the 2026 World Cup quarterfinals with a 3-0 victory over Canada, national coach Mohamed Ouahbi expressed his satisfaction. He noted that after a challenging first half, tactical adjustments made at halftime allowed the team to control Canada's pressure and exploit spaces. Ouahbi credited the collective effort of his staff for these changes, stating that ideas come from everyone and the best ones are chosen. He emphasized that Morocco's success is no longer a surprise, with the team now considered a contender and a great nation, aiming to go further with ambition, confidence, and humility. Ouahbi also highlighted the role of national training, specifically mentioning Azzedine Ounahi, a product of the Mohammed VI Academy, as a testament to the vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI. Ounahi, named man of the match, acknowledged the intensity of the game, particularly in the first half, and the importance of halftime discussions with the coach and staff to find solutions. Midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi also underscored the significance of the adjustments made during the break. French coach Didier Deschamps, whose team also qualified for the quarterfinals, praised Morocco, stating they are among the best teams and their presence in the quarterfinals is not by chance, attributing it to their quality and potential. Morocco and France are set to face each other on July 9 in Boston for a spot in the semifinals.