Mastercard Introduces AI-Powered Agent Pay for Future Commerce

Mastercard has introduced Agent Pay, a new artificial intelligence (AI)-driven payments program aimed at transforming commerce. The initiative, announced on April 29, leverages Mastercard’s Agentic Tokens, which build on existing tokenization technologies used in mobile contactless payments and programmable payments like subscriptions.

Key Features of Agent Pay

• Trusted Transactions: The program aims to create an "agentic commerce future" where consumers and businesses can transact with enhanced security and control.
• Generative AI Integration: Agent Pay will integrate payments into AI-driven conversations, allowing for tailored recommendations and seamless purchases. For example, an AI agent could help plan a party by curating outfits, accessories, and venues, then facilitate payments based on user preferences.

Collaborations and Partnerships

Mastercard is partnering with several tech giants to scale the program:

• Microsoft: Developing new use cases for agentic commerce.
• IBM: Accelerating B2B applications.
• Braintree and Checkout.com: Enhancing tokenization capabilities.

Industry Implications

Jorn Lambert, Mastercard’s Chief Product Officer, emphasized the program’s potential to redefine commerce in the AI era. "We are keen to collaborate with industry players to advance standards for agentic payments," he said, highlighting the importance of trust and scalability.

Broader AI Trends in Payments

A recent interview with TerraPay’s Ram Sundaram explored AI’s role in loan underwriting, fraud detection, and cross-border payments. While AI can automate many processes, Sundaram noted that human oversight remains critical, especially when resolving transaction issues.

"A lot of that work is done manually," Sundaram said, underscoring the need for balance between automation and human intervention.