Ant International Joins Visa, Mastercard in AI Agent Payment Standards Push

Ant International has joined forces with Visa and Mastercard to develop common standards for identifying and monitoring AI agents in payments. The collaboration aims to establish a 'Know Your Agent' framework, allowing merchants and payment providers to verify which AI agents are behind transactions and whether they are authorized to act.

The work comes as payment companies prepare for AI systems that can search for products, place orders, and make payments for consumers and businesses. McKinsey projects AI agents could handle between $3 trillion and $5 trillion of global consumer commerce by 2030.

Jiang-Ming Yang, chief innovation officer at Ant International, said safeguards will be needed as agents gain more authority over financial transactions because AI systems can produce incorrect information or take actions users did not intend. 'Trust is the foundation of the AI transformation,' he told CNBC.