Payment firms Visa, Mastercard and Ant International team up on AI agent trust framework

Ant International, Mastercard, and Visa have formed a partnership to create a unified framework for identifying and authenticating AI agents capable of conducting purchases on behalf of users. The companies announced their collaboration on Thursday, unveiling plans to establish a Know-Your-Agent interoperability framework. This framework aims to enable card networks, digital wallets, agent platforms, and online marketplaces to recognize and trust AI agents consistently across various payment ecosystems while retaining their individual approval and risk-management procedures.

The initiative marks a significant step as the payments industry anticipates the expansion of agentic global consumer commerce, where AI agents transition from recommending products to executing transactions on behalf of users. The framework leverages existing protocols such as Visa's Trusted Agent Protocol, Mastercard Verifiable Intent, and Ant International's Agentic Mobile Protocol.

By developing this joint framework, the companies hope to alleviate integration costs and expedite the emergence of new agentic services by enhancing trust and risk visibility among participating networks. Ant International, Mastercard, and Visa revealed their commitment to working together through BuildFin.ai, a platform overseen by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

BuildFin.ai serves as a collaborative hub, uniting financial institutions, technology providers, and researchers to devise AI solutions tailored to the financial services sector.