Highlights

Ant International has joined Visa and Mastercard to create a shared standard enabling payments initiated by AI agents. The groups aim to establish a "know-your-agent" framework that links each agent to a valid entity, evaluates agent behavior and monitors transactions to reduce risks such as hallucinations. Building trust and interoperability is central, so agents registered with one network would not need duplicate registration across partners. The collaboration reflects expectations that AI agents will handle trillions in commerce by 2030 and responds to diverse payment ecosystems worldwide.

Sentiment Analysis

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  The overall tone of the announcement is cautiously optimistic. It emphasizes proactive collaboration among major payment providers to address safety and trust concerns as AI agents become more prevalent in commerce. The sentiment skews positive because the initiative aims to preemptively manage risks and enable smoother customer experiences, but it also acknowledges significant challenges such as agent misbehavior and varying payment infrastructures across regions.
  
  
  
  

  
  65%
  

  
  
  
  

Article Text

Ant International announced a collaboration with Visa and Mastercard to develop a common standard for payments conducted by AI agents. The initiative aims to create interoperable frameworks that allow payments initiated or managed by automated agents to be recognized and processed securely across diverse payment networks. The companies cited forecasts projecting that AI agents could handle between $3 trillion and $5 trillion of global consumer commerce by 2030, driving the urgency to agree on shared rules and safeguards.

A central element of the project is a "know-your-agent" approach. This concept requires establishing a verifiable link between each AI agent and a legitimate controlling entity, together with mechanisms for assessing agent behavior and ongoing monitoring. The objective is to reduce risks associated with AI errors, including hallucinations or unexpected actions, and to ensure consumers and businesses feel safe using automated services for transactions. Trust is presented as foundational to the transformation toward agent-enabled commerce.

The proposed interoperability would simplify registration and recognition across systems. For example, agents registered with Ant International would not need to complete separate registrations with Visa or Mastercard, streamlining operations for developers and reducing friction for end users. This approach also aims to make it easier for merchants and payment processors to determine which agents they can trust and accept, supporting broader adoption.

Each of the three organizations has previously introduced protocols meant to secure agent-driven payments. The new collaboration is intended to harmonize those efforts so agents can operate across platforms more easily. This is particularly relevant because payment habits and infrastructure vary by market: Visa and Mastercard are dominant in many developed economies, while numerous developing markets rely heavily on e-wallet systems. Ant International operates an "Alipay+" network that has partnered with more than 50 e-wallets, bridging digital wallets and card-based systems.

Digital wallets have grown rapidly and are increasingly linked to credit cards, changing the landscape of payments. By 2025, digital wallets represented a majority share of global e-commerce value and a substantial portion of point-of-sale transactions, reflecting more than $13 trillion in spending according to industry data. That shift heightens the need to adapt payment infrastructure so that it supports secure AI-driven spending across both card and wallet ecosystems.

Executives involved in the effort stress that consistent standards for identifying and evaluating agents are essential for scaling agentic commerce. A unified approach would help merchants and processors quickly recognize legitimate agents, manage fraud and comply with regulatory expectations. The collaboration therefore addresses technical, operational and trust-related dimensions necessary for broad adoption of AI-based transaction flows.

Ant International was spun off from Hangzhou-based Ant Group nearly three years ago; Ant Group operates the Alipay mobile payments app widely used in mainland China. Alipay has been extending AI features to consumers, enabling recurring tasks such as scheduled coffee orders or repeated ride-hailing requests, where the app prepares transactions and prompts users to complete payment. These real-world applications illustrate how agent-enabled services could alter daily payment habits while highlighting why standards and safeguards are important to prevent misuse or erroneous charges.

The collaboration among Ant International, Visa and Mastercard is positioned as an attempt to create interoperable, trust-centered infrastructure for a future in which AI agents play a major role in commerce. By aligning on identification, behavior assessment and monitoring practices, the partners aim to reduce friction for cross-platform agent use and to provide clearer assurances for consumers, merchants and regulators as automated commerce evolves.

Key Insights Table