Mastercard launches Agent Connect for merchants; Visa Agent Pay is the other side
Mastercard announced Agent Connect on 9 September, which helps merchants prepare for AI shopping. Together with Visa Agent Pay, the two networks are competing over the rules of agentic shopping.
Who is affected and how
- fintech company
- On the merchant and acquirer side, firms must decide which network's agentic solution to join.
- banking professional
- Issuers need to prepare to handle the two networks' agent tokens and identification.
Sources
- Mastercard Launches Agent Connect to Help Merchants Scale AI Shopping | PYMNTS.compymnts.com · Sep 9, 2026
- Mastercard Launches Agent Connect for AI Shopping Integration | CryptoAPAcryptoapa.com · Sep 9, 2026
- Visa vs. Mastercard AI shopping: What Agent Pay really meansrottenwifi.com · Sep 8, 2026
- Visa, Mastercard and Ant International Just Agreed on How to Trust AI Agents: What Know Your Agent Means for Payment Providersrivatechconsulting.com · Sep 10, 2026
- Ant International, Mastercard, Visa to align on 'Know-Your-Agent' standards for AI-driven payments - TNGlobaltechnode.global · Sep 11, 2026
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