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Mastercard Launches Agent Pay to Enable Seamless AI-Powered Transactions

Mastercard introduces Agent Pay, a new program integrating its payment system with AI chat platforms like OpenAI and Anthropic. This innovation enables users to complete transactions directly within AI-powered search environments, enhancing convenience and security through tokenization and fraud detection. Partnerships with Microsoft, IBM, and others aim to scale and secure this ecosystem, transforming AI agents from information sources into full transactional platforms.

Published April 30, 2025 at 07:12 AM EDT in Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Mastercard has unveiled Agent Pay, a groundbreaking payments program that integrates its payment network directly with AI chat platforms such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity. This initiative addresses a long-standing limitation of AI-powered search agents by enabling users to complete transactions seamlessly within the same interface where they discover products or services.

Greg Ulrich, Mastercard’s Chief Data and AI Officer, emphasized that Agent Pay “closes the loop” on agentic search by allowing a fully integrated customer experience. This means users no longer need to switch windows or platforms to finalize purchases, significantly enhancing convenience and engagement.

The program also ensures security and trust by incorporating Mastercard’s tokenization technology, which masks personally identifiable information (PII) during transactions. Each transaction is uniquely encrypted, preventing misuse of payment data. Additionally, Mastercard leverages generative AI and large language models to detect and prevent fraud in real time, working in tandem with tokenization.

Mastercard’s collaboration with technology leaders such as Microsoft, IBM, Braintree, and Checkout.com aims to scale Agent Pay and integrate it with banks and financial institutions. This ecosystem approach not only facilitates secure transactions but also enables merchants and financial entities to better manage risk and dispute resolution.

The integration of Agent Pay into AI platforms transforms these agents from mere information providers into full-service transactional environments. Enterprises can build agentic workflows that handle complex processes such as supplier searches, negotiations, contract drafting, and payment settlements all within a single AI-powered platform.

For example, Microsoft’s Copilot and Azure/OpenAI services are in discussions to integrate Agent Pay, potentially enabling millions of users to transact securely within AI-assisted workflows. This advancement marks a significant step toward more intelligent, efficient, and secure digital commerce.

Why Agent Pay Matters for AI and Commerce

AI-powered search has evolved rapidly, moving beyond simple information retrieval to actively assisting users in decision-making and task completion. However, the inability to transact within these platforms has limited their utility. Agent Pay addresses this gap by embedding payment capabilities directly into AI agents, making them more practical and valuable for both consumers and businesses.

This seamless integration also benefits merchants and financial institutions by providing enhanced fraud protection, streamlined transaction processing, and improved risk management. The tokenization and AI-driven fraud detection technologies ensure that transactions are secure and compliant with regulatory standards.

Ultimately, Agent Pay represents a significant innovation in the convergence of AI and payments, paving the way for new business models and enhanced customer experiences in digital commerce.

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