Mastercard IncMastercard launched its Know-Your-Agent initiative with Visa and Ant International to let merchants trust AI purchasing agents, potentially bringing more transactions onto its network.
Mastercard unveiled a Know-Your-Agent initiative with Visa and Ant International on Thursday, aimed at letting merchants trust software that shops on a customer's behalf. Through the Monetary Authority of Singapore-backed BuildFin.ai platform, the companies plan to connect Mastercard Verifiable Intent, Visa's Trusted Agent Protocol and Ant International's Agentic Mobile Protocol, so card networks, digital wallets, marketplaces and AI platforms can identify approved purchasing agents without surrendering control of their own authorization rules. Mastercard handled 47.4 billion switched transactions last quarter and generated $9.28 billion in revenue. AI agents could eventually bring more purchasing activity onto its network, but they also raise the question of who pays when autonomous software authorizes the wrong transaction. Investors still lack an adoption timetable, a defined revenue model and clear rules for allocating losses.
Mastercard IncMastercard launched its Know-Your-Agent initiative with Visa and Ant International to let merchants trust AI purchasing agents, potentially bringing more transactions onto its network.
Visa Inc. Class AVisa is contributing its Trusted Agent Protocol to the joint AI agent identity initiative, positioning its network for agent-driven purchasing.
Ant International is contributing its Agentic Mobile Protocol to the BuildFin.ai-backed initiative connecting wallets and AI platforms for trusted purchasing agents.