Mastercard has launched Agent Pay for Machines to enable automated, programmatic transactions between artificial intelligence agents and systems.
The new service allows these background transactions to be authorized, managed, and settled across the company’s global payments network. The system is designed to handle high-frequency, low-latency, and low-value payments, including microtransactions that represent fractions of a cent. More than 30 industry partners, including Adyen, Ant International, BVNK, Checkout.com, Cloudflare, Coinbase, Getnet, Global Payments, OKX, Stripe, and Tempo, have joined the initiative to support its adoption across digital commerce platforms.
How Agent Pay for Machines Operates
The service establishes a structured framework for machine-driven transactions through four core capabilities. Specifically, it provides credentialing to verify the identity of AI agents, and permissioning to enforce spending limits programmatically.
Furthermore, the system facilitates transacting across different providers and supports multi-rail settling. This settlement capability allows transactions to clear using traditional cards, bank accounts, or stablecoins, ensuring flexibility for diverse business models.
Core Capabilities and Infrastructure
The deployment of Agent Pay for Machines builds upon the company’s existing Agent Pay program, which was introduced in 2025. While the previous program defined how trusted AI agents participate in payments, the new system focuses on automated background transactions.
Consequently, businesses can set specific authorization rules to ensure that autonomous software operates within defined financial parameters. This structure aims to provide security and predictability as software begins to transact independently, reducing the risk of unauthorized expenditures.
Industry Collaboration and Support
To scale the ecosystem, the company is collaborating with various financial technology and blockchain organizations. Notably, partners such as Checkout.com, Cloudflare, and OKX are validating use cases to establish common rules for machine-driven commerce.
“Agent Pay for Machines will create the conditions for a superbloom of AI business models. Machine payments can make it possible for services to be bought and sold among agents at fundamentally different scales than payments today.”
Jorn Lambert, Chief Product Officer at Mastercard
Future Outlook for Autonomous Commerce
The introduction of Agent Pay for Machines addresses the growing demand for infrastructure that supports machine-speed transactions. The integration of stablecoins and traditional payment rails provides a bridge for enterprises adopting autonomous technologies.
Ultimately, the development of these open standards aims to secure digital transactions without compromising network reliability. The company plans to continue expanding its infrastructure to support autonomous, agent-driven payments globally.
