Mastercard is stepping up its AI game, introducing a suite of tools, consulting services, and partnerships aimed at making intelligent, AI-driven payments a reality for merchants, developers, and consumers worldwide. The company says these innovations will lay the groundwork for smarter, more secure shopping experiences and help define global standards for agentic commerce—where AI agents act on behalf of users.

Building the Future of Agentic Commerce

Partnering with AI and commerce heavyweights like Stripe, Google, and Ant International’s Antom, Mastercard is rolling out its Agent Pay program to all U.S. cardholders ahead of the holiday season, with a global rollout to follow. Early access will be available to Citi and U.S. Bank Mastercard customers, as agentic commerce providers such as PayOS go live. The move signals Mastercard’s commitment to making AI-enabled shopping accessible and scalable.

Developer-Friendly Tools to Accelerate Adoption

To support this shift, Mastercard is launching several developer-focused tools:

• Agent Toolkit: Hosted on Mastercard Developers, this toolkit allows AI assistants to access and interpret Mastercard’s API documentation via the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Platforms like Claude, Cursor, and GitHub Copilot can integrate more seamlessly, making agentic workflows easier to deploy.
• Agent Sign-Up: A streamlined process for registering agents and accessing AI-enabled Mastercard services.
• Insight Tokens: Secure, permissioned insights for agents to deliver more personalized experiences with consumer consent. Already supported by partners like SAP Concur, Insight Tokens are designed to enhance transparency and trust in AI-driven transactions.
• Agentic Consulting Services: Expert guidance for issuers, acquirers, merchants, and AI enablers to design intelligent, frictionless shopping experiences.

Shaping Industry Standards for Agentic Payments

Mastercard is also working with the FIDO Alliance and other industry players to create a verifiable credential standard for payments. This framework ensures transaction details—amount, merchant, product—are authenticated, giving all parties confidence in the legitimacy of AI-assisted payments. Mastercard leverages its experience with tokenization and contactless payments to ensure these agentic standards are interoperable and secure.

Laying the Groundwork for AI-Powered Shopping

“AI-powered payments aren’t just a trend — they’re a transformation,” said Craig Vosburg, Mastercard’s chief services officer. “We’re building the infrastructure for a new generation of intelligent transactions where consumers and developers can empower AI agents with trust, transparency, and precision.”

Jorn Lambert, chief product officer, added, “We’re working with partners across the ecosystem to build the standards and tools that will define agentic commerce. Our goal is a trusted environment for AI-enabled payments that can scale globally.”

Mastercard’s approach suggests the company is positioning itself to dominate the emerging market for AI-powered financial services. By combining developer tools, consulting, and standards-setting, it’s not just enabling smarter shopping—it’s actively shaping how agentic commerce will function worldwide.