Visa, Mastercard, and Ant International have launched a joint initiative to establish universal standards for identifying and verifying artificial intelligence agents. These agents will be capable of making purchases on behalf of users.
The project, titled Know-Your-Agent, allows payment operators, digital wallets, and trading platforms to recognize AI agents within payment ecosystems. Participants will maintain their own risk management and verification processes.
The framework builds upon existing company protocols, including Visa Trusted Agent Protocol, Mastercard Verifiable Intent, and Ant International Agentic Mobile Protocol.
The initiative aims to reduce integration costs and accelerate the deployment of new agent-based services. It focuses on increasing transparency and trust for network operators as AI agents transition from recommendation tools to autonomous shoppers.
The companies will collaborate through the BuildFin.ai platform, which was established by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. This platform connects financial institutions, technology providers, and researchers to develop AI solutions for financial services.
