Concept
How AI agents pay
As of 2026-10-30, this directory records 5 card tagged payment rails, 3 HTTP 402 protocol columns, 3 commerce protocol listings, and 12 agent wallet rows. The payment rails category holds 25 listings and the agent payment protocols file holds 5 columns. A share of payments for any one way is not documented as of 2026-10-30.
Last verified 2026-10-30
Sources
Last checked 2026-10-30. Each line keeps the day its own document was read.
Ways an agent pays
Each row counts listings from the payment rails category, the agent payment protocols file, or the agent wallets file. A listing can appear in more than one row, so the counts are not a total. Nothing on this page is scored.
| Way | Count | Listings | What the cited pages say |
|---|---|---|---|
| Card based checkout and virtual cards Payment rail listings tagged cards, excluding listings that are columns in the agent payment protocols file. | 5 |
| Self Labs product that gives an agent mock card and login tokens. A proxy checks the account holder's rules, then types the real value into the merchant page. The agent does not hold the card number. What is Agent Vault, as of 2026-10-20 Hosted API that shops at a merchant for a user under a maximum amount. The caller sends a start URL and a task. Crossmint uses UCP, the merchant API, or a browser it runs, and may open a tracked affiliate link. The agent does not receive the card number. Crossmint Agent Checkouts, as of 2026-10-27 Payments facilitator that verifies and settles x402 and MPP charges against a payment plan, with metering and delegated card spending. Nevermined payments facilitator, as of 2026-10-21 Shopify MCP server and shop CLI. An agent searches Shopify Catalog, builds carts, and checks out with the buyer's Shop Pay. The buyer approves each purchase by default, or sets a weekly, monthly, or total budget. Off Shopify, an approved spend request returns a one time card. shop.dev, as of 2026-10-29 CLI for an agent to request a card purchase or a Machine Payments Protocol charge. Link returns a one time payment credential. Since 26 October 2026, a funded Link balance lets the agent skip approval for purchases under a per purchase limit the user sets, first in Instinct. stripe/link-cli README, as of 2026-10-30 The Link wallet page says Link returns a payment credential and the customer's real card or bank number is never exposed. Credential types on that page are a virtual card, a shared payment token, and a Link pay token. Enable agents to spend, as of 2026-10-29 AP2 and Machine Payments Protocol are tagged cards and are also protocol columns, so this row does not count them. Payment rails JSON, as of 2026-10-29 A virtual card, one time card, or mock card for Crossmint Agent Checkout is not documented as of 2026-10-27. Crossmint Agent Checkouts, as of 2026-10-27 A virtual card, one time card, or mock card for Nevermined is not documented as of 2026-10-21. Nevermined payments facilitator, as of 2026-10-21 |
| HTTP 402 payment protocols Columns named by the pay per call intent in the agent payment protocols file. | 3 |
| HTTP 402. The server answers HTTP 402 with a token bound to a Lightning invoice. The client pays, then presents the preimage. Lightning Labs L402 documentation, as of 2026-10-22 HTTP 402. The FAQ says MPP and x402 both use HTTP 402 to signal that a request requires payment. MPP FAQ, as of 2026-10-22 Stripe's documentation says the server returns HTTP 402, the agent authorizes the payment, retries the request, and receives a receipt. Stripe documentation for MPP, as of 2026-10-22 The session intent page says a session pays for many requests, streamed chunks, or metered units without a separate settlement for each one. It says to use the subscription intent when access renews at a fixed amount. MPP session intent, as of 2026-10-22 HTTP 402. The x402.org page says a request without payment receives HTTP 402, and the client pays and retries. x402 site, as of 2026-10-22 The Coinbase how it works page says this is for per request payments without a checkout page, a subscription, or a separate billing integration. Coinbase documentation for how x402 works, as of 2026-10-22 15 payment rail listings are tagged http-402. Last verified dates on those listings run from 2026-10-19 to 2026-10-30. That tag is wider than the protocol columns in this row. Payment rails JSON, as of 2026-10-30 |
| Commerce protocols Columns named by the checkout intent, plus protocol listings tagged commerce that are not columns in that file. | 3 |
| Checkout. Stripe's documentation says ACP defines checkout sessions, cart and feed, delegated payment, orders, and webhooks. Stripe documentation for the Agentic Commerce Protocol, as of 2026-10-22 Checkout. A checkout mandate captures the cart negotiated between an agent and a merchant. A payment mandate authorizes payment against a payment instrument. AP2 protocol documentation, as of 2026-10-22 The site says AP2 is an extension for A2A and for the Universal Commerce Protocol, and also an open extension for A2A and MCP. AP2 protocol documentation, as of 2026-10-22 Open commerce protocol so agents, businesses, and payment providers can negotiate checkout and identity linking over REST, MCP, or A2A. Universal Commerce Protocol specification, as of 2026-10-22 Not documented as of 2026-10-26. Universal Commerce Protocol is not a column in the agent payment protocols file. Agent payment protocols JSON, as of 2026-10-26 |
| Agent wallets Rows in the agent wallets file. | 12 |
| A row is a payment rails listing tagged wallets, plus Shop MCP, Stripe link-cli, Stripe Treasury for agents, and Stabletrust API. Those four are included because their provider pages describe a wallet or a payment account an agent spends from. Rows stay alphabetical. Agent wallets JSON, as of 2026-10-30 |
Who approves and limits spending
The spend controls file lists 17 products. The latest cell date is 2026-10-30. UNKNOWN means the checked document does not state the control. This page does not add a bound the file does not already record.
- Agent Vault: Yes. Above an amount the account holder chooses, checkout waits for a yes. What is Agent Vault, as of 2026-10-20
- Agentic Commerce Protocol: Not documented as of 2026-10-20. A risk signal can ask for manual review. A spend approval threshold is not stated.
- AP2: Not documented as of 2026-10-20. A trusted surface renders the mandate to the user. A later approval threshold is not stated.
- Coinbase Agentic Wallet: Not documented as of 2026-10-19. Docs say the agent cannot change the caps. They do not state human approval above a threshold.
- Hedera Agent Accounts: Not documented as of 2026-10-19. The blog says the agent can transact without approval of every action. It does not state approval above a threshold.
- Ledger Agent Intent: Partial. Every intent needs signer approval. The page does not state a threshold where approval starts. How to use Ledger Agent Intent, as of 2026-10-20
- Machine Payments Protocol: Not documented as of 2026-10-20. The guide shows a wallet authorizing the key up front. It does not state later approval above a threshold.
- MetaMask Agent Wallet: Yes. Guard Mode requires 2FA when a transaction would exceed the outflow limit. MetaMask Agent Wallet trading modes, as of 2026-10-19
- Nevermined: Not documented as of 2026-10-19. Device binding approves creation of a Visa delegation, not a later spend above a threshold.
- Polygon Agent CLI: Yes. A price over the default per call limit asks the user to confirm before it is paid. Polygon Agent CLI reference, as of 2026-10-19
- Shop MCP: Yes. By default the buyer approves every purchase. Allow agent to pay for me is optional. Using Shop with AI agents and agentic platforms, as of 2026-10-29
- Skyfire: Not documented as of 2026-10-19. Docs checked do not state human approval above a spend threshold.
- Stripe link-cli: Yes. The user sets a per purchase limit. The agent can skip approval at or under it. Purchases above it still need approval. A limit of $0 prevents skipping. Set up a balance for agent wallet purchases, as of 2026-10-30
- Sui Agentic Payments: Not documented as of 2026-10-19. Docs say an agent can buy without a human approving each call, and do not state approval above a threshold.
- Tempo Wallet: Not documented as of 2026-10-19. The user approves the key limits up front. Docs do not state a later approval above a threshold.
- Visa Trusted Agent Protocol: Not documented as of 2026-10-20. The Visa getting started page describes agent signatures and does not state this control.
- Wavelength: No. The 23 October 2026 post says an agent pays with no human approving each transaction. Lightning Labs: Wavelength on mainnet, 23 October 2026, as of 2026-10-30
Spend controls JSON, as of 2026-10-30
Spend controls matrix · Agent spend controls · Spend limit · Human approval
Identity and revocation
The credential revocation table has 8 rows, last checked 2026-10-28. The agent credentials comparison has 9 not documented cells out of 64. The latest credentials cell date is 2026-10-28. This page does not add a revocation path.
- Beltic KYA: Not documented as of 2026-10-21 Beltic site, as of 2026-10-21
- Infisical open source Agent Vault: Not documented as of 2026-10-28 Infisical Agent Vault README, as of 2026-10-28
- Socure Agent Intelligence: Not documented as of 2026-10-28 Socure Launches Agent Intelligence to Bind Every Agent to the Verified Human Behind It, as of 2026-10-28
- Visa Trusted Agent Protocol: Not documented as of 2026-10-20 Visa Developer Center: getting started with Trusted Agent Protocol, as of 2026-10-20
Omitted from that table: ERC-8004, Microsoft Entra Agent ID, Web Bot Auth. The revocation page states the reason for each.
Credential revocation JSON, as of 2026-10-28 · Agent credentials JSON, as of 2026-10-28
Know Your Agent · How do you revoke an AI agent's credentials? · Agent credentials compared
Refunds and receipts
Refunds and disputes are quoted on the refunds page from the gaps file. Not documented there means the cited page does not state a refund or dispute path. This page does not add a refund path.
Payment receipt: A receipt produced for every payment. Celestia's Voyager post says its single node benchmark produces one for every payment, and that real time status queries are not built yet. Introducing Voyager: Hyperscale Payments for Agentic Commerce, as of 2026-10-30
- Machine Payments Protocol: Stripe's documentation says the server returns HTTP 402, the agent authorizes the payment, retries the request, and receives a receipt. Stripe documentation for MPP, as of 2026-10-22
Not documented as of 2026-10-30: one receipt rule that applies to every payment rail listing. Introducing Voyager: Hyperscale Payments for Agentic Commerce, as of 2026-10-30 Agent payment protocols JSON, as of 2026-10-26
Measuring volume
This page does not quote an x402 volume and does not add a total across ways of paying.
This file does not quote x402 volume. Public figures are compared at /concepts/x402-volume-measurement. Agent payment protocols JSON, as of 2026-10-26
Not documented as of 2026-10-26: a volume total that covers every way on this page. The measurement pages quote x402 figures only. That measurement page was last checked 2026-10-29.
How x402 volume is measured · x402 volume, claimed and measured
Choosing a rail
These tools filter or restate the same listings. They do not score a listing.
Payment rail picker · Agent payment protocols · Protocol compatibility · Agent wallets compared
Questions
- How do AI agents pay for things?
- As of 2026-10-30, this directory records 5 card tagged payment rails, 3 HTTP 402 protocol columns, 3 commerce protocol listings, and 12 agent wallet rows. The payment rails category holds 25 listings and the agent payment protocols file holds 5 columns. A share of payments for any one way is not documented as of 2026-10-30.
- Which protocols does this directory put on HTTP 402?
- The pay per call intent names L402, Machine Payments Protocol, and x402. Cited layer statements on this page were read as of 2026-10-22.
- Is the Universal Commerce Protocol in the agent payment protocols file?
- Not documented as of 2026-10-26. Universal Commerce Protocol is not a column in the agent payment protocols file.
- How many agent wallets does the directory compare?
- 12 rows. A row is a payment rails listing tagged wallets, plus Shop MCP, Stripe link-cli, Stripe Treasury for agents, and Stabletrust API. Those four are included because their provider pages describe a wallet or a payment account an agent spends from. Rows stay alphabetical.
- Does this page pick a way to pay?
- No. It counts listings already in the directory. A listing can appear in more than one row. The page does not score a row.
- Where are spend limits, refunds, and volume?
- Spend limits are in the spend controls file, last checked 2026-10-30. Refunds are on the refunds page. Volume figures are on the x402 measurement pages. This page does not add a limit, a refund path, or a volume figure.
Related concepts
- Agent spend controls
Agent spending is bounded only where a vendor document states the bound.
- How do you revoke an AI agent's credentials?
An agent credential can be revoked only where a checked page states the path.
- How is x402 volume measured
As of 2026-10-29, x402.org no longer published the Last 30 Days panel that showed 75.41M transactions and $24.24M volume through at least 2026-10-20, and x402scan showed 3,247,612 transactions and $1.58M under Past 30 Days.
- Who handles a refund when an agent pays
A refund follows the page for that rail.
- x402 volume, claimed and measured
Public x402 volume figures disagree, and this page does not merge them.