Mastercard Unveils Agent Pay for Machines with Crypto Partners

Mastercard has launched Agent Pay for Machines (AP4M), a new infrastructure designed to support AI-powered payments across traditional and crypto networks. The system allows autonomous AI agents to make transactions at machine speed, handling high-volume, low-value exchanges that legacy rails struggle with.

Over 30 companies have joined Mastercard as early partners in AP4M, including Coinbase, OKX, Stripe, Ripple, and more. These partnerships aim to create a robust ecosystem for agentic commerce, where AI agents can buy and sell services at extremely high volumes and low latency.

The system uses credentials recorded on the Polygon, Solana, and Base blockchains to authenticate AI agent transactions. Mastercard's network ensures settlement and enforces spending limits set by users. Raj Dhamodharan, who leads blockchain and digital asset products at Mastercard, said demand for such infrastructure is already visible, pointing to rising activity around HTTP 402, an emerging internet payment standard.

Mastercard's AP4M launch extends the company's wider crypto strategy, which includes settling cards with stablecoins like USDC, PYUSD, and RLUSD. The company has also acquired stablecoin startup BVNK in March and holds a New York BitLicense.