AI agents are beginning to fundamentally transform the way people shop online, and now Visa and Mastercard are rolling out new tools to help secure those transactions from start to finish.
Article Contents:
- Introduction: The era of agentic commerce
- Cloudflare verification technology
- Visa Trusted Agent Protocol
- Mastercard merchant acceptance framework
- Growth of AI shopping
- Collaboration instead of competition
- Conclusion
Introduction: The era of agentic commerce
In a proactive move to keep pace with technological development, both payment giants introduced separate frameworks this week aimed at supporting the rise of so-called “agentic commerce.” The goal, according to the companies, is to give merchants a way to verify trusted AI agents and confirm shopper intent, while also processing payments with less friction and fewer technical hurdles.
Cloudflare verification technology
Both frameworks are powered by Cloudflare’s “Web Bot Auth” technology, which was developed in collaboration with Microsoft, Shopify, Checkout.com, Worldpay, Adyen, and others. Cloudflare stated that it designed the technology to run agentic commerce at scale, allowing AI agents to conduct transactions across millions of merchants globally. American Express also plans to adopt the standard as part of its agentic commerce strategy.
Stephanie Cohen, chief strategy officer at Cloudflare, said in a statement: “Securing the future of commerce is a shared responsibility, especially as AI agents begin acting on behalf of consumers. Our work with Visa on the Trusted Agent Protocol is a vital step in building the necessary guardrails for this new ecosystem.”
Visa Trusted Agent Protocol
Visa’s response to these shifts is the “Trusted Agent Protocol.” The company designed the system to help merchants identify verified AI agents and process their transactions securely. The protocol is already available on the Visa Developer Center and GitHub. Partners supporting the protocol include Microsoft, Shopify, and Stripe.
According to Visa, the protocol helps authorized agents pass payment credentials and other data to merchants. This reduces friction at checkout while helping prevent confusion between legitimate agents and malicious bots. The framework focuses on three capabilities: signaling agent intent, recognizing the consumer behind the agent, and transmitting payment credentials.
Mastercard merchant acceptance framework
On the same day, Mastercard announced its “Merchant Payment Acceptance Framework for Agentic Commerce.” The company says the framework was built to help merchants interact with AI agents “at scale and with ease” throughout the entire transaction process.
Like Visa’s system, Mastercard’s approach does not require complex coding and is designed for seamless integration. The company emphasized that its framework registers and authenticates agents prior to any transaction, and believes this approach allows merchants to recognize and interact more confidently with trusted AI systems.
Growth of AI shopping
The moves by Visa and Mastercard reflect growing momentum and mounting concerns surrounding AI-driven shopping. In Visa’s announcement, it cited data from Adobe Insights showing that the 2024 holiday season marked a turning point, with traffic generated by generative AI to U.S. retail sites increasing by 1,300% year-over-year. On Cyber Monday alone, traffic jumped by 1,950%.
By July 2025, Adobe reported that visits driven by generative AI had surged by 4,700% year-over-year. Analysts expect this growth to accelerate, as AI agents will not only search for and suggest products, but also complete purchases—sometimes without the shopper being present at the time.
Collaboration instead of competition
The two companies claim their protocols are intended to support rather than compete with other emerging standards in agentic commerce. Visa stated that it is aligning its Trusted Agent Protocol with OpenAI’s agentic commerce protocol, as well as the Coinbase standard. These moves come as other players, such as Google, expand their agentic commerce efforts through an agent payment protocol.
Conclusion
As reliance on smart assistants to complete daily tasks increases, securing payments becomes the foundational pillar for the success of this new economic model. Visa and Mastercard’s initiatives represent a necessary step in building trust between consumers, merchants, and the machines mediating between them, paving the way for a future where AI shops on our behalf securely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: What is agentic commerce?
Answer: It is a type of e-commerce where artificial intelligence agents (smart software) search for products, compare prices, and even complete purchases and payments on behalf of a human user.
Question: How do Visa and Mastercard protect users in this ecosystem?
Answer: Through new protocols that verify the identity of the “AI agent” and ensure it is authorized by a real user, preventing malicious bots from executing fraudulent transactions.
Question: Is this technology available now?
Answer: Yes, the protocols are available to developers and merchants, and major platforms like Shopify have begun supporting them, with widespread adoption expected throughout 2026.
