Mastercard announced today the launch of its Agent Payments Program, the Mastercard Agent Pay. The innovative solution integrates with agentic AI to revolutionize commerce.
The Mastercard Agent Pay will offer smarter, safer, and more personalized payment experiences for consumers, merchants, and issuers.
The program introduces theMastercard Agentic Tokens, which are based on proven tokenization capabilities that today drive global commerce solutions such as contactless mobile payments, secure stored cards, and Mastercard Payment Passkeys, as well as programmable payments like recurring expenses and subscriptions. This helps unlock a future of seamless commerce where consumers and businesses can transact with confidence, security, and control.
Mastercard will initially collaborate with Microsoft on new use cases to scale agent-based commerce, followed by other leading AI platforms. It will also partner with technology enablers like IBM, with its watsonx Orchestrate product, to accelerate B2B use cases.
Mastercard will also work with acquirers and checkout players such as Braintree and Checkout.com to enhance the tokenization capabilities that are already being used today with merchants to offer secure and transparent agent payments.
In the case of banks, tokenized payment credentials will be seamlessly integrated into e-commerce platforms, keeping card issuers at the forefront of this rapidly evolving technology, with enhanced visibility, security, and control.
How it works:
Mastercard Agent Pay will enhance generative AI conversations for individuals and businesses by integrating reliable, seamless payment experiences into the personalized recommendations and insights already provided on conversational platforms.
This means that, for a person about to turn 30 and planning their birthday party, they can now chat with an AI agent to proactively select clothing and accessories from local boutiques and online retailers based on their style, the venue's atmosphere, and weather forecasts. Based on your preferences and feedback, the intelligent agent can make the purchase and also recommend the best way to pay, for example, using Mastercard One Credential.
A small textile company can use its AI agent to handle suppliers, optimize payment terms, and manage logistics with an international supplier. From then on, the AI agent can complete the cross-border purchase using a virtual Mastercard corporate card token and arrange for expedited and cost-effective delivery.
By identifying and validating a customer using Mastercard's tokenization technology, a retailer can offer a consistent shopping experience, adding benefits such as recommended products, free delivery, rewards, and discounts.
What does this mean:
Mastercard will work with Microsoft to integrate Microsoft's leading AI technologies, including Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service and Microsoft Copilot Studio, with Mastercard's trusted payment solutions to develop and scale intelligent commerce, meeting the evolving needs of the entire commerce value chain.
Based on the company's commitment to responsible AI, Mastercard Agent Pay will ensure that payments made within AI platforms are secure and transparent at all stages of the transaction – before, during, and after.
Deepening:
Secure registration and authentication of trusted agents:The program will require trustworthy AI agents to be registered and verified, and after this step, it will be able to make secure payments on behalf of its users.
Facilitating secure and protected transactionsEnhanced tokenization technology will enable payments to be initiated through conversational interfaces and made at millions of merchants of all sizes that support online commerce today. All players in the value chain, from consumers to issuers and merchants, will be able to recognize transactions facilitated by intelligent agents, offering greater transparency.
Establishing clear rules for consumer control:Consumers will have full control over what the agent is authorized to purchase on their behalf, ensuring that the payments they make are authorized and securely identified.
Protecting against fraud and supporting consumer disputesMastercard's world-class cybersecurity, security, and authentication capabilities will protect merchants and consumers against end-to-end malicious actors. This will include the use of AI agents to facilitate strong consumer authentication by leveraging device biometrics and a process to help clarify agent transactions that may be unfamiliar or unrecognized.
"Mastercard is transforming and improving the way the world pays, anticipating consumers' needs," said Jorn Lambert, Mastercard's global product head. The launch of Mastercard Agent Pay marks our first steps in redefining commerce in the AI era, including new merchant interfaces to distinguish trusted agents from malicious actors using agent technology.
Recognizing the seismic implications of this evolution, we are eager to collaborate with industry players to advance agent payment standards, such as applying the Model Context Protocol for Secure Remote Commerce. This establishes the foundation for scale and builds trust in agent-based trade.
What comes next?
As commerce evolves, Mastercard is committed to continuous and responsible innovation in this space – enabling use cases and maintaining a future-oriented vision.
