Visa, Mastercard and Ant International Move to Verify AI Shopping Agents

Visa, Mastercard and Ant International have begun work on a shared Know-Your-Agent framework that would let payment networks, wallets, marketplaces and AI platforms recognize shopping agents across systems while keeping their own risk controls. The move marks a push to turn AI assistants from product advisers into authenticated buyers, a role that payments companies say will require identity, consent and audit trails before it can scale.