Mastercard has demonstrated how AI agents can make multiple payments to different service providers under a single approved budget.
The company showcased its Agent Pay for Machines solution at Cloudflare Connect following pilots with Cloudflare, Ant International, AIsa, Base, BVNK, Coinbase and Hype.
It has also opened early access for developers to build and test AI agent payment applications.
How AI Agents Can Make Payments Within Approved Budgets
The solution builds on x402, an open protocol that allows digital services to request payments online.
Businesses can assign AI agents tasks and set spending limits. When an agent encounters a paid service, the provider sends a “402 Payment Required” response.
The agent then generates a digitally signed payment voucher. Once verified, the provider delivers the service.
These transactions take place off-chain, allowing providers to collect vouchers and redeem them later rather than settling each payment immediately.
During the demonstration, marketing agency Hype used an AI agent to plan a sample campaign for a protein bar launch.
The agent purchased social media research from AIsa and generated eight campaign images through Cloudflare AI Gateway.
It completed nine payments across the two providers without requiring separate accounts, API keys or invoices.
Coinbase Developer Platform supplied the wallet infrastructure, while Base supported on-chain settlement.
BVNK acted as the agent wallet and used Mastercard Global Money Platform to handle payments and settlement in fiat currencies or stablecoins.
Mastercard has made its initial buyer- and seller-side APIs available through the early access programme, alongside a toolkit, sandbox and developer documentation.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by MastercardÂ
