Mastercard has launched Agent Pay for Machines, a new service designed to support payments made by machines, AI agents and connected systems.
The company announced the service on June 10, 2026, describing it as a way to enable high frequency, low value and low latency transactions across automated commerce environments.
Agent Pay for Machines is built for scenarios where software systems, machines or AI agents may need to make payments without a traditional human checkout flow. Mastercard said the service will support transactions across cards, accounts and stablecoins.
Built for Machine Driven Transactions
Mastercard said the new service is designed around four functions: credentialing, permissioning, transacting and settling.
Credentialing is meant to identify trusted machines, agents and participants. Permissioning allows businesses to define spending limits, rules and authorization controls. Transacting enables approved participants to exchange value. Settlement can happen across multiple payment rails, including cards, accounts and stablecoins.
The service extends Mastercard’s earlier Agent Pay program, which was introduced in 2025 to support payments involving trusted AI agents.
From AI Assistants to AI Buyers
Mastercard used the example of a small business owner asking an AI agent to set up an online presence for a new flower shop. In that scenario, the agent could complete related purchases such as a domain name, hosting, design tools or payment setup, while staying within a defined budget.
The company also described use cases in logistics, where machines or agent based systems could handle small transactions connected to freight, warehouse access, route management or monitoring services.
These examples show how AI agents could move beyond search, recommendations and workflow support into direct commercial activity.
Early Support From Payments and Technology Companies
Mastercard said more than 30 companies are supporting or exploring Agent Pay for Machines.
The list includes Adyen, Ant International, BVNK, Checkout.com, Cloudflare, Coinbase, Getnet by Santander, Global Payments, Lovable, OKX, Stripe and Tempo.
The group includes payment processors, fintech companies, digital asset platforms, commerce infrastructure providers and AI related technology companies.
Agentic Commerce Takes Shape
Agent Pay for Machines arrives as the technology industry experiments with AI agents that can complete tasks across apps, websites, APIs and business systems.
For agentic AI products to become useful in commerce, payment networks will need to support more than simple one time purchases. They will need controls around identity, authorization, spending limits, settlement and audit trails.
Mastercard’s new service is one sign that payment infrastructure companies are preparing for a market where AI agents and machines may become active participants in digital transactions.