Powering AI Commerce with the New Agent Payments Protocol (AP2)
9 hours ago
- #AI-commerce
- #payments-protocol
- Google announced the Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), an open protocol for secure agent-led payments.
- AP2 works with the Agent2Agent (A2A) protocol and Model Context Protocol (MCP) to provide a payment-agnostic framework.
- Over 60 organizations, including Adyen, American Express, and Coinbase, are collaborating on AP2.
- AP2 addresses key challenges: authorization, authenticity, and accountability in AI-driven transactions.
- Mandates and verifiable credentials (VCs) are used to establish trust in transactions.
- AP2 supports various payment methods, including credit/debit cards, stablecoins, and real-time bank transfers.
- Examples of AP2 applications include smarter shopping, personalized offers, and coordinated tasks.
- AP2 includes extensions like A2A x402 for crypto payments, developed with Coinbase and Ethereum Foundation.
- AP2 aims to create a secure foundation for AI-driven commerce and invites industry collaboration.
- Partners like Accenture, Adobe, and Mastercard support AP2 for its potential in transforming payments.