Mastercard launches Agent Connect for AI-driven commerce

Mastercard has introduced Agent Connect, a new solution designed to facilitate transactions between merchants, AI agents, digital platforms, and payment providers through a single integration. This initiative aims to address the growing complexity of connectivity as commerce shifts from traditional websites and apps toward AI-driven assistants.

Alongside this launch, Mastercard is expanding its Agent Suite for Merchants. This suite allows businesses to integrate AI-powered shopping experiences—including product discovery, research, and consumer-authorized purchases—directly into their existing e-commerce environments. The goal is to enable companies to participate in agentic commerce while maintaining control over branding, pricing, delivery, and business rules.

In a practical application of this technology, Mastercard has partnered with Trip.com and Network International to showcase AI-powered travel booking. Using Trip.com’s AI agent, TripGenie, the collaboration demonstrates how consumers can search, book, and complete travel purchases through an end-to-end AI journey. The rollout of these services begins in the United States.