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Singapore, September 10, 2026 – Visa, Mastercard, and Ant International have joined forces to launch a groundbreaking “Know Your-l Agent” framework, designed to standardize the way artificial intelligence agents are identified and verified in global payment systems.
The initiative, unveiled at Singapore’s BuildFin.ai event convened by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, marks a significant step toward preparing the financial industry for the era of agentic commerce.
The framework seeks to address a growing challenge in digital payments: how to ensure trust and interoperability as AI agents evolve from recommendation tools into autonomous buyers.
By creating a common protocol, the three payment giants aim to reduce integration costs for financial institutions and accelerate the rollout of AI driven purchasing services.
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Each network will continue to maintain its own risk controls and approval processes, but the shared standard will allow agents to operate seamlessly across card networks, wallets, and marketplaces.
The collaboration builds on existing protocols already developed by the firms.
Visa’s Trusted Agent Protocol, Mastercard’s Verifiable Intent, and Ant’s Agentic Mobile Protocol have each pioneered ways to verify AI agents.
The new framework consolidates these efforts into a unified system, ensuring that consumers and merchants can rely on verified agents to conduct transactions securely.
Industry observers see this as a pivotal moment in the evolution of digital commerce.
With Visa and Mastercard’s global reach, the adoption of the Know Your Agent framework could reshape how payments are conducted worldwide.
For banks and fintechs, the benefits include streamlined onboarding of AI agents and reduced costs associated with fragmented standards.
For consumers, the promise lies in greater trust and convenience when delegating purchases to AI systems.
Singapore’s role as host underscores its ambition to position itself as a hub for financial innovation.
By convening BuildFin.ai, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has placed itself at the center of discussions on how AI will transform commerce and payments.
The city state’s proactive stance could help accelerate adoption across Asia and beyond.
Still, challenges remain. Fragmentation is a risk if other major players such as PayPal or Stripe do not align with the framework.
Regulators may also demand stricter compliance measures before mass adoption, and consumer education will be critical to ensure users understand how AI agents operate and what protections are in place.
If successful, the Know Your Agent framework could become the backbone of AI powered commerce, much like “Know Your Customer” standards underpin traditional banking.
Pilot programs across Asia and Europe are expected to test interoperability in real world transactions, setting the stage for a new era in trusted digital payments.
