AP2 (Agent Payments Protocol)
A payment-agnostic open standard that lets autonomous AI agents authorize and complete transactions securely via cryptographically signed "mandates," removing manual checkout.
Imagine a world where autonomous AI agents can make purchases and complete transactions on your behalf, without you having to manually click through a checkout screen every single time. This is the promise of the Agent Payments Protocol, or AP2.
AP2 is a payment-agnostic open standard designed to let AI agents authorize and complete secure transactions. Instead of relying on manual inputs, it uses cryptographically signed instructions called mandates. These mandates clearly define what you or your agent have agreed to buy, and they set strict spending limits to keep your money safe. Because the protocol is payment-agnostic, it is not tied to any single card network or digital wallet.
This standard belongs to a growing family of open tools for AI integration, working alongside other frameworks like the Model Context Protocol and WebMCP. By providing a secure, trusted way for agents to handle money, AP2 solves a major bottleneck in the AI economy, opening the door for agents to truly act on our behalf.
What it is
AP2 (Agent Payments Protocol) is a payment-agnostic open standard that lets autonomous AI agents authorize and complete transactions securely. It replaces manual checkout with cryptographically signed "mandates," verifiable instructions that capture what a user or their agent has agreed to buy and under what limits, so a payment can proceed without a human clicking through checkout each time.
Being payment-agnostic, it does not tie the flow to any single card network or wallet. AP2 belongs to the same family of agent standards as the Model Context Protocol, WebMCP, and A2UI, and it gives an AI agent a trusted way to act on a purchase. It also connects to the wider question of paying for what agents consume, explored in CAPS.