Ant International, a leading fintech company, made a groundbreaking announcement on Thursday by partnering with Visa and Mastercard to establish a new standard for payments made through AI agents. This collaboration comes as a response to the growing trend of AI agents handling a significant portion of global consumer commerce, with projections estimating that they will manage $3 trillion to $5 trillion by 2030.
Jiang-Ming Yang, the chief innovation officer of Ant International, emphasized the importance of building trust in AI payments due to the potential risks associated with AI agents. He highlighted the necessity of ensuring that people feel safe when using these technologies, as trust is the foundation of the AI transformation.
The primary focus of this collaboration will be on developing a “know your agent” framework, which involves establishing common standards to link each agent to a valid entity, assessing their behavior, and monitoring their activities. This initiative aims to enhance interoperability for users across different payment systems, eliminating the need for agents to register separately with Visa, Mastercard, and Ant International.
In recent months, Visa, Mastercard, and Ant International have introduced their own protocols for AI agents to facilitate secure payments. While Visa and Mastercard dominate transactions in developed economies, many developing countries rely on e-wallets for electronic payments. Ant International has formed partnerships with over 50 e-wallet providers, offering its “Alipay+” system to facilitate digital transactions.
Digital wallets have gained popularity as a preferred payment method, surpassing physical credit cards in terms of usage. According to Worldpay, digital wallets accounted for 56% of global e-commerce value and 33% of point-of-sale value in 2025, totaling over $13 trillion in spending. As AI-driven spending becomes more prevalent, the development of secure technology is crucial to ensure the integrity of transactions.
Pablo Fourez, the chief digital officer at Mastercard, emphasized the importance of interoperability across “Know-Your-Agent” frameworks to enable agentic commerce on a larger scale. Recognizing trustworthy AI agents is essential for merchants and payment processors to facilitate seamless transactions.
Ant International, which operates independently from Hangzhou-based Ant Group, has been at the forefront of innovation in mobile payments. Alipay, the mobile payments app owned by Ant Group, recently introduced a feature that allows users to schedule recurring Starbucks orders through AI commands. Users can simply instruct the app to place an order at a specific time each day, streamlining the purchasing process.
This collaboration between Ant International, Visa, and Mastercard signifies a significant step towards enhancing the security and efficiency of AI-driven payments. By establishing common standards and protocols, these companies are paving the way for a more seamless and trustworthy payment experience in the era of AI commerce.
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