Mastercard Launches AI Agent Payments Network With Coinbase, RippleX

Mastercard has launched a new service to support automated payments between artificial intelligence agents.

The global payments company said June 10 it is rolling out a new AI agent payments network called Agent Pay for Machines, or AP4M. The service is designed to support authorization, orchestration and settlement for ultra-fast micropayments by AI agents across Mastercard’s global payments network.

More than 30 crypto-related companies are part of the initial rollout and support group, including Coinbase, RippleX, Polygon, MoonPay, OKX, Tempo, Stripe and Ava Labs. Mastercard plans to work with those partners to test real-world use cases for the service and build an ecosystem aimed at speeding the adoption of AI-based payments infrastructure across industries.

High-frequency, low-latency and micropayments are central to AP4M. Unlike traditional in-person payments, the network is designed for system-to-system transactions that run continuously in the background.

Mastercard said AP4M supports multiple payment methods, including cards and stablecoins. It also includes features such as credentials and payment controls to help companies adopt AI-based automated payments more securely.

"AI payments enable ultra-fast, micropayment transactions at a scale unlike anything today," Jorn Lambert, Mastercard’s chief product officer, said. "AP4M will help drive explosive growth in AI business models."