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Visa, Mastercard, and Ant International launch AI agent payment framework
Major payment networks Visa, Mastercard, and Ant International have launched a joint initiative to develop the ‘Know-Your-Agent’ (KYA) interoperability framework. This framework aims to establish common standards for identifying and verifying AI agents authorized to make purchases on behalf of users, facilitating secure ‘agentic commerce’ across different digital wallets, card networks, and marketplaces.
The collaboration is being conducted through BuildFin.ai, a platform convened by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The initiative builds upon existing proprietary protocols, including Visa’s Trusted Agent Protocol, Mastercard’s Verifiable Intent, and Ant International’s Agentic Mobile Protocol. The goal is to reduce integration costs and enhance risk visibility while allowing each network to maintain its own internal security and approval processes.
Industry projections from McKinsey suggest that AI agents could orchestrate between US$3 trillion and US$5 trillion of global consumer commerce by 2030. Despite this potential, consumer trust remains a significant hurdle. Visa research indicates that while 72% of US consumers have used AI assistants, only 23% trust generative AI to handle payments on their behalf. However, confidence increases to 61% when a trusted payment brand like Visa is involved in the transaction.
In parallel, Mastercard has introduced Agent Connect, a single integration layer that allows merchants to connect to various AI shopping platforms for product discovery, cart creation, and customer-approved payments. Mastercard’s Agent Pay system utilizes tokenized permissions to ensure that customers have authorized any AI-initiated purchases.
Entities
Ant International · Anthropic · Katja Forbes · Magnus Lindkvist · Mastercard · McKinsey & Company · Monetary Authority of Singapore · Patrick Dixon · Theodora Lau · Visa
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.
- [● 3 SOURCES] More than 30 companies, including Stripe, Coinbase, and Ripple, support Mastercard’s AI payment infrastructure. bitcoinethereumnews.com · cryptonomist.ch · crypto.news
- [● 4 SOURCES] The Agent Connect platform enables product discovery, cart creation, and customer-approved payments. bitcoinethereumnews.com · crypto.news · pulse2.com
- [● 8 SOURCES] By 2030, one in ten online shoppers is expected to routinely use AI agents for shopping and payments. bonitet.com · www.tokenpost.kr · www.flash.gr · markamonitor.hu · metro-portal.hr · +3 more
- [● 9 SOURCES] Visa, Mastercard, and Ant International are collaborating on a Know-Your-Agent (KYA) interoperability framework. asianbankingandfinance.net · news.cnyes.com · srnnews.com · www.businesstimes.com.sg · www.finanzen.ch · +4 more
- [● 6 SOURCES] AI agents are projected to orchestrate between US$3 trillion and US$5 trillion of global consumer commerce by 2030. asianbankingandfinance.net · news.cnyes.com · www.servicesmobiles.fr · thenextweb.com · www.ad-hoc-news.de
- [● 3 SOURCES] Mastercard Agent Pay uses tokenized permissions to verify customer authorization for AI-initiated purchases. bitcoinethereumnews.com · crypto.news · cryptonomist.ch
- [● 4 SOURCES] Mastercard partnered with Anthropic to integrate Claude AI models into its Agent Suite for Merchants. bitcoinethereumnews.com · cryptonomist.ch · coingape.com
- [● 6 SOURCES] Mastercard launched Agent Connect to provide merchants a single integration for AI-driven shopping across multiple platforms. bitcoinethereumnews.com · crypto.news · cryptonomist.ch · pulse2.com · www.ad-hoc-news.de
- [● 3 SOURCES] 61% of US consumers would trust Visa to handle agentic transactions. forbesliberia.com · www.letsmoney.com.br · www.fintechnews.org
- [● 3 SOURCES] Only 23% of US consumers trust generative AI to conduct payments on their behalf. forbesliberia.com · www.letsmoney.com.br · www.fintechnews.org