What: Mastercard launches Agent Pay, a pioneering agentic payments program that integrates with AI platforms to enable secure, personalised shopping experiences through trusted AI agents.

Why it is important: This launch establishes essential standards and protocols for agentic commerce, addressing key concerns around security, transparency, and consumer control in AI-enabled transactions.

Mastercard has unveiled its Agentic Payments Program, Agent Pay, designed to revolutionise commerce in the AI era. The program introduces Mastercard Agentic Tokens, building upon existing tokenisation capabilities that currently support mobile payments and programmable transactions. Through partnerships with Microsoft, IBM, and payment processors like Braintree and Checkout.com, the system will enable AI agents to conduct secure transactions while maintaining consumer control. The solution includes features for agent registration, authentication, and transaction transparency, with clear protocols for consumer authorisation and dispute resolution. Practical applications range from personal shopping assistance, such as curating outfits for special occasions, to B2B transactions like managing international supplier relationships. The program integrates with Microsoft's AI technologies, including Azure OpenAI Service and Copilot Studio, while maintaining Mastercard's commitment to responsible AI development and implementation.

IADS Notes: Mastercard's Agent Pay launch represents a significant advancement in AI-enabled retail payments. According to Forbes in February 2025 , 38% of global consumers were already actively using AI shopping tools, with 80% reporting positive experiences, indicating strong market readiness for agentic commerce. Forbes' April 2025 coverage  of Amazon's "Buy For Me" feature demonstrated how major platforms are racing to integrate AI shopping agents, with 73% of consumers feeling overwhelmed by traditional online shopping experiences. Hugging Face's January 2025 analysis  revealed that AI implementations were delivering 15-30% improvements in customer service efficiency, while reducing resolution times from 11 to 2 minutes. BCG's March 2025 report  highlighted that 71% of consumers now expect personalised interactions, with companies implementing AI reporting revenue increases of 6% or more. Mastercard's structured approach to agent registration, transaction transparency, and consumer control addresses key market needs while providing the security framework necessary for widespread adoption. The partnership with Microsoft and integration with Azure OpenAI Service suggests a comprehensive ecosystem approach to enabling trusted AI commerce across the retail landscape.

Mastercard unveils agentic payment techology