Mastercard and PayPal partner on AI agent payment platform

Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) and PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) announced a partnership to integrate Mastercard Agent Pay with PayPal's digital wallet, enabling artificial intelligence agents to complete transactions on behalf of users.

The integration will allow AI agents to access Mastercard cardholders' payment credentials through PayPal checkout systems where PayPal is accepted. The companies said the service will be available to hundreds of millions of consumers and tens of millions of merchants globally, including users of Mastercard cards stored in PayPal accounts and co-branded credit and debit cards.

Under the arrangement, PayPal will pilot Mastercard's Agent Pay Acceptance Framework and collaborate on developing and testing the technology with agents and merchants. The framework aims to ensure compatibility with Mastercard systems and common agentic protocols while enabling AI agent verification and data exchange.

The payment process involves consumers directing AI agents to make purchases, with the agents recognizing PayPal as a payment option at participating merchants. Users must verify their identity before transactions are completed, with both companies' platforms providing security through tokenization and authentication technologies.

"Our work with PayPal is driving a catalyst for agentic innovation at global scale, empowering merchants and consumers to transact with confidence, speed, and trust," said Sherri Haymond, co-president of Global Partnerships at Mastercard.

PayPal's Michelle Gill, executive vice president and general manager of Small Business & Financial Services, said the partnership enables merchants and consumers to participate in AI-driven commerce "with trust and flexibility at the center."

The companies stated that merchants accepting PayPal checkout can participate in AI-driven commerce without additional technical requirements. The partnership builds on an existing relationship between the two payment companies.

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