Visa has introduced a new protocol designed to serve as a foundational framework for enabling AI agents to process payments on behalf of users and merchants.
Amidst a remarkable 4,700% increase in AI-driven traffic to U.S. retail sites, Visa’s Trusted Agent Protocol aims to tackle the unique challenges of agent-driven commerce. This initiative ushers in a new era where AI can search, compare, and make purchases for consumers while establishing trust between merchants and AI agents.
Developed in collaboration with Cloudfare, the protocol allows approved agents to securely share critical information with merchants. It lays the groundwork for recognizing trusted agents with commerce intent, distinguishing them from malicious automation and rogue bots.
Visa has gathered valuable feedback from early partners, including Adyen, Ant International, Checkout.com, Coinbase, CyberSource, Elavon, Fiserv, Microsoft, Nuvei, Shopify, Stripe, and Worldpay.
With agent-driven commerce expected to become a significant business sector, Stripe is collaborating with OpenAI on its own Agentic Commerce Protocol, while Google has enlisted over 60 partners—such as Adyen, Coinbase, Mastercard, and PayPal—for its Agent Payments Protocol.
Currently, the initial specifications of the Visa protocol apply only to the Visa network. However, the company is working to ensure compatibility with other existing protocols.
Jack Forestell, Visa’s Chief Product and Strategy Officer, states, “We believe the entire payments ecosystem has a responsibility to ensure sellers can trust AI agents as much as they trust their best customers and networks. For the past year, we’ve collaborated closely with sellers, issuers, and partners to ensure that agent-initiated transactions are as seamless and secure as any payment today. Our new agent protocol focuses on providing no-code functionality for merchants to securely identify agents with purchasing intent, enhancing both payment processes and personalized experiences for known users.”