Mastercard is putting a payment card in the hands of AI agents. Through a collaboration with Alchemy, the company is developing AgentCard, which will let AI bots make purchases using tokenized Mastercard credentials linked to a consumer’s existing account.
As the Wall Street Journal first reported, Alchemy’s AgentCard will support Mastercard payment credentials through an integration with Mastercard Agent Pay. The technology will allow developers to build AI agents that can complete purchases online on behalf of users.
Alchemy’s platform gives consumers control over how an agent can spend, including setting limits on the amount it can charge and the types of products it can buy. Transactions will use single-use, tokenized Mastercard credentials linked to the user’s existing Mastercard.
Consumers can set their parameters in advance and let an agent make purchases on its own, or require it to check back before completing a transaction. Existing rewards, credit lines, and card benefits would carry over, without requiring users to open new accounts or manage separate payment credentials.
“Agentic commerce tools from offer consumers the ability to send bots across the web to discover and purchase products on their behalf,” said Don Apgar, Director of Merchant Payments at Javelin Strategy & Research. “We’re seeing most companies using a Platte River strategy towards agentic commerce, meaning it’s a mile wide and an inch deep. This means opening as many avenues to the consumer for agentic commerce while watching adoption and usage before choosing where to double down.”
Getting Past the Trust Issue
AgentCard also supports Verifiable Intent, Mastercard’s framework for establishing that an agent acted within the user’s authorized instructions.
That could help address one of the biggest challenges facing agentic commerce—giving consumers confidence that an AI agent will do only what they have authorized it to do. The system is designed to provide visibility into what the user approved and which agent carried out the transaction.
That distinction will become crucial as AI moves from helping consumers find and compare products to actually completing purchases on their behalf.
“Merchants are already using AI-powered bots to help guide customers who are shopping their store to find what they are looking for and suggest complimentary purchases,” said Apgar. “Macy’s and Williams Sonoma are two prominent brands posting early gains from their efforts.”
Setting the Standard
Mastercard says the banks that issue its cards are already enrolled in the technology needed to support its agentic payment protocols, allowing them to handle the new tokens from launch. The company is still working to bring additional AI providers into the ecosystem.
Visa has also partnered with Alchemy on its own AI shopping technology. The use of common underlying infrastructure could make it easier for AI agents to work across different card networks, potentially giving consumers a more consistent way to authorize and control agentic purchases.
