Mastercard plans to roll out agentic payment option with Alchemy

Banks and merchants weigh fraud systems for AI shopping agents

Mastercard plans to roll out an agentic payment option this week for everyday purchases through a partnership with the startup Alchemy, the companies told The Wall Street Journal. Alchemy’s platform allows users to issue virtual cards to AI bots with pre-set restrictions, including spending caps and limits on which types of products the agent may buy.

The companies said cardholder authorization can occur at different points in the process. A customer can authorize a transaction in advance by setting parameters and letting the agent take over, or require the agent to check back before completing the purchase.

The rollout is part of a broader push by major payment networks to position themselves for what executives see as a rapidly approaching new era in payments, in which AI bots could increasingly drive purchases. According to payments executives interviewed by the Journal, that prospective shift means rethinking matters like the fraud- and crime-detection systems that banks, merchants and payment processors have built over the years.

Visa has already partnered with Alchemy, the Journal reported, meaning most credit cards now work with the tool. Visa, Mastercard and American Express have each announced tools or standards for AI platforms, merchants and others to support AI purchases; Stripe, Adyen and PayPal have unveiled their own agentic-commerce offerings.

Payments executives framed the shift as inevitable. “We believe it’s not about if, it’s about when and how quickly,” said Jorn Lambert, Mastercard’s chief product officer. Proponents envision a future in which shoppers use an AI agent to make online purchases based on the cardholder’s preferences and budget, with the ability to wait for signals such as a price drop before completing a transaction.

Trust remains the biggest barrier to consumer adoption, according to payments executives. Users might fear giving their credit-card information to their AI bot, or not want to risk a rogue agent going on shopping sprees without their permission. Concerns over liability for unauthorized purchases are also unresolved.

Some bank executives remain skeptical that agentic payments will take over soon, especially with mounting AI safety concerns about rogue agents prompting discussion of a slowdown by hyperscalers, the Journal reported. There is also uncertainty over how regulators might treat agentic payments down the road.

“The concept of agentic payments is a really good one but it is certainly not without its risks,” Brendan Coughlin, president of Citizens Financial Group, told the Journal.

Mastercard said it has already signed up the banks it works with to use the technology behind its protocols and is still in the process of getting certain AI providers signed on. Issuing banks will have to support what the company described as “agentic tokens” containing the user’s intent and the data for the purchase.

When fully AI-driven shopping might become routine remains unclear. A common refrain among payments executives is that there are more news releases about agentic commerce than actual transactions. “Nothing happens overnight,” Lambert said.