AI Agent Payment Infrastructure: A Divide Between Closed Systems and Permissionless Architecture

The emergence of AI Agents has led to a significant shift in the payment infrastructure landscape. Big Tech companies are designing approval-based automated payment systems, while the crypto space is focusing on enabling Agent-to-Agent (A2A) commerce through open protocols.

Google's AP2 (Agent Payment Protocol 2.0) divides the transaction process into three Mandate Layers: Intent Mandate, Cart Mandate, and Payment Mandate. This structure allows for independent monitoring and auditing of each stage.

In contrast, the crypto space is developing standards like ERC-8004 and x402 to enable AI Agents to conduct autonomous transactions without relying on centralized platforms. These standards aim to establish a verifiable on-chain identity certificate and automate smart contract execution.