[Cointelegraph] Mastercard has unveiled a new payment system that allows artificial intelligence (AI) agents to directly send and receive payments without human intervention, backed by key partners in the virtual asset industry.

On June 10 (local time), Mastercard introduced 'Agent Pay for Machines.' This service is a solution designed to enable software agents acting on behalf of businesses and consumers to process high volumes of micro-transactions. Over 30 payment, blockchain, and fintech companies are participating in this program, including Adyen, Stripe, OKX, Coinbase, Ripple, and Cloudflare.

Mastercard explained that the system supports automated transactions and settlements between AI systems, and even enables Machine-to-Machine (M2M) transactions. Additionally, users can set spending limits, approval policies, and settlement conditions, while allowing AI agents to execute transactions utilizing various payment networks and stablecoins.

Ripple stated that the importance of settlement is increasingly growing in an automated commerce environment. Marcus Infanger, Senior Vice President of RippleX, said at the Mastercard launch event, "Autonomous agents can already independently handle billing tasks and purchase computing resources." He added, "The XRPL and RLUSD were built to allow agents to trade at machine speed in an environment governed by the blockchain's own rules." He further noted, "We provide settlement within seconds, predictable costs, programmable compliance, and complete audit trails."

Coinbase also emphasized the need for open payment standards in an AI-driven transaction environment. Nina Coulpland, Head of Stablecoin Business Development at Coinbase, stated, "AI agents are creating a new type of economy, and this demands faster machine-to-machine payments." She added, "We are highly excited to work with Mastercard to build an open and interoperable system for agent payments by combining a trusted payment network, programmable digital dollars, and open standards like x402."

The Solana Foundation also supported Mastercard's AI agent payment system. Rishin Sharma, Head of AI Growth at the Solana Foundation, remarked, "A payment system supporting the activities of AI agents must operate with stablecoins, payment cards, and all other payment methods." He stated, "Solana is built to support this type of solution at scale, and we look forward to collaborating with Mastercard."

Mastercard plans to establish the infrastructure for autonomous digital commerce through this partnership. Previously, Mastercard also launched a 24/7 year-round settlement service utilizing Ripple's stablecoin, RLUSD.

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