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Mastercard and Visa are developing payment technologies for AI shopping agents as artificial intelligence moves toward handling more parts of the online purchasing process.
Mastercard has expanded its agentic-commerce efforts through a partnership with Alchemy, while Visa is developing its Intelligent Commerce platform and related technologies. The initiatives are designed to support automated transactions while maintaining controls around authorization, spending and security.
Mastercard Partners With Alchemy
Mastercard announced a partnership with Alchemy on September 17, 2026, connecting Alchemy’s AgentCard technology with Mastercard Agent Pay.
The system allows AI agents to use Mastercard payment credentials to make online purchases. Instead of giving an AI system unrestricted access to a consumer’s existing card, the approach uses controlled payment credentials designed for agent-based transactions.
Users can set rules such as spending limits and merchant restrictions. They can also configure approval requirements, giving consumers more control over when an AI agent can complete a transaction automatically.
Potential applications include shopping, bookings and other online purchases.
Mastercard Expands Its Agentic Commerce Tools
The Alchemy partnership is part of Mastercard’s broader effort to develop infrastructure for agentic commerce.
Mastercard introduced Agent Connect and expanded its Agent Suite for Merchants on September 9. Agent Connect is designed to connect AI agents with participating merchants and payment providers.
Mastercard says its merchant tools can make information such as products, prices and fulfillment options accessible to AI systems while allowing businesses to maintain control over pricing and customer experience.
Its Agent Pay technology focuses on transactions initiated by AI agents. Mastercard says the system uses Verifiable Intent, developed with Google, to connect an agent’s transaction with the consumer’s authorization.
Why Spending Controls Matter
The growth of AI shopping agents raises questions about how much authority consumers should give automated systems.
A user might ask an agent to find a product below a specific price. The payment system then needs to help ensure that the resulting purchase remains within the user’s instructions.
Spending limits, merchant restrictions and approval requirements can provide safeguards for these transactions.
However, these measures do not remove every risk. An AI agent could misunderstand an instruction or choose an unsuitable product, making authorization and transaction monitoring important parts of agentic commerce.
Visa Develops Intelligent Commerce
Visa is also building payment infrastructure for AI shopping agents through its Intelligent Commerce initiative.
The platform includes tools designed to connect AI agents with merchants and payment systems. Visa’s Trusted Agent Protocol is intended to support trusted interactions between agents and businesses, while Intelligent Commerce Connect provides an integration layer for companies and agent developers.
Visa’s September 2026 research found that only 23% of U.S. consumers surveyed trusted generative AI to handle payment transactions on their behalf.
That figure comes from Visa’s U.S. research and should not be treated as a worldwide measure of consumer trust.
Know-Your-Agent Initiative
Mastercard and Visa are also collaborating with Ant International on a Know-Your-Agent interoperability framework.
The initiative aims to improve how AI agents are identified and verified across payment networks, digital wallets and marketplaces.
The framework could help establish information about which agent is acting, who authorized it and whether the agent meets relevant security requirements.
It remains an industry collaboration rather than a completed universal standard.
Travel Offers an Early Use Case
Travel is becoming an important testing ground for agentic commerce.
Mastercard and Trip.com announced a collaboration involving TripGenie, Trip.com’s AI-powered travel assistant. The companies are demonstrating how users could search for travel services and complete authorized purchases through an AI-led experience.
The solution uses Mastercard’s Agent Suite for Merchants and Network International’s payment infrastructure. A phased rollout and commercial launch are expected in early 2027.
Travel could be a significant use case because bookings often involve multiple decisions, prices and payment steps.
Mastercard Expects AI Shopping to Grow
Mastercard expects AI agents to become more involved in online commerce.
The company forecasts that more than one in ten online shoppers could routinely use AI agents to make purchases by 2030.
This is a forecast rather than a current adoption figure. If adoption grows, payment networks will need systems that can support automated transactions while maintaining clear authorization and security controls.
What AI Shopping Agents Could Change
| Capability | Potential Function |
| Product discovery | Find products based on user requirements |
| Price comparison | Compare available options and prices |
| Payment credentials | Provide controlled payment access |
| Spending limits | Restrict transaction amounts |
| Merchant controls | Limit where agents can purchase |
| User approval | Require confirmation for selected transactions |
| Agent verification | Identify agents and authorized users |
| Automated checkout | Complete purchases with fewer manual steps |
AI shopping agents could eventually change the traditional online shopping journey.
Instead of manually searching websites, comparing products and completing checkout, consumers could provide an agent with specific requirements and allow it to handle some of those tasks.
For this model to work at scale, payment providers will need to balance convenience with consumer control, security and transparency.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are AI shopping agents?
AI shopping agents are software systems that can search for, compare and potentially purchase products or services based on instructions provided by users.
What is Mastercard Agent Pay?
Mastercard Agent Pay is Mastercard’s framework for supporting payments initiated by AI agents, including authorization and transaction-control capabilities.
What is Alchemy AgentCard?
AgentCard is Alchemy’s payment and identity technology for AI agents. Its Mastercard integration enables agents to use controlled Mastercard payment credentials for online purchases.
Can users control AI agent spending?
Yes. The Mastercard-Alchemy system supports controls such as spending limits and merchant restrictions, along with configurable approval requirements.
Is Visa developing AI payment technology?
Yes. Visa is developing its Intelligent Commerce platform and related tools to support transactions involving AI agents.
Conclusion
The development of AI shopping agents is opening a new area of competition in the payments industry.
Mastercard is expanding its Agent Pay ecosystem through its Alchemy partnership, while Visa is developing Intelligent Commerce tools for AI-led transactions. Both companies are working on ways to give automated systems payment capabilities while maintaining safeguards around authorization and security.
Mastercard, Visa and Ant International are also exploring agent-verification infrastructure that could help identify AI agents across different commerce systems.
The technology is still developing, but AI agents could eventually handle more of the product search, comparison and purchasing process. The success of that model will depend heavily on consumer trust, merchant participation and the ability to keep automated transactions within clearly defined permissions.
