SEPTEMBER 17, 2026
Mastercard rolled out AI payment tool allowing bots shop without approval · Quartz · Cheng Xin / Getty Images
Mastercard rolled out an AI payment option on Thursday that allows a virtual credit card to be issued to a user’s AI agent, letting the bot make purchases without seeking the cardholder’s approval each time. The company announced the product through a partnership with startup Alchemy.
Under the arrangement, users connect an existing AI agent to their Mastercard through Alchemy and set restrictions on what the agent can do — including spending caps and limits on which retailers it can shop at. The agent can then make purchases at any online merchant that accepts Mastercard. Cardholders can also choose to have the agent check back before completing a transaction, the company said.
Mastercard said its system depends on “agentic tokens” that the issuing bank generates, bundling together the cardholder’s stated intent and transaction details so the network can confirm the agent is operating within authorized boundaries.
Mastercard chief product officer Jorn Lambert said the company views agentic commerce as inevitable. “We believe it’s not about if, it’s about when and how quickly,” Lambert said. “Nothing happens overnight.”
Visa partnered with Alchemy earlier this year, according to The Wall Street Journal, meaning a majority of credit cards can now work with the tool. Visa, Mastercard, and American Express have each announced their own tools and standards to support AI-driven purchases.
Trust remains the biggest barrier to widespread adoption, according to The Wall Street Journal. Many users are wary of trusting an AI agent with their financial details, and worry about the possibility of bots running up charges they never approved. Brendan Coughlin, president of Citizens Financial Group, said the concept “is a really good one but it is certainly not without its risks.”
Uncertainty also surrounds the regulatory treatment of agentic payments. It also remains unsettled who would bear responsibility if an AI agent — whether malfunctioning or acting outside its intended scope — were to complete a transaction the cardholder never sanctioned, according to The Wall Street Journal. Bank executives including Coughlin remain skeptical that the technology will take over the payments landscape soon.
Advocates of agentic commerce imagine a future where bots track a shopper’s budget and wishlist, stepping in to complete a purchase when the right price or product appears.
Courtesy: Yahoo Finance
