Google Unveils AP2: 60 Giants Back New AI Payments Standard

 Key Insights:

• AP2 enables AI agents to handle payments securely using Intent and Cart Mandates with user authorization.
• Over 60 major companies, including Adobe, Mastercard, PayPal, and Coinbase, support Google’s new payments standard.
• AP2 supports credit cards, stablecoins, and real-time bank transfers, creating a unified protocol for transactions.

Google has launched the Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), an open standard designed to bring security to AI-driven transactions. More than 60 companies are backing the initiative, including Adobe, Mastercard, American Express, PayPal, Coinbase, and Salesforce.

AP2 aims to make AI agents reliable for purchases and other payment tasks. As agents take on roles such as placing orders or transferring funds, trust and accountability have become major concerns. Google said the protocol provides a common framework that allows users, merchants, and payment providers to carry out transactions safely across different platforms.

How the Protocol Works

The protocol extends existing systems such as the Agent2Agent (A2A) and Model Context Protocol (MCP). AP2 supports a range of payment methods including credit cards, stablecoins, and real-time bank transfers, offering a single standard for agents and merchants.

A central feature is the use of Mandates, which are digitally signed contracts confirming a user’s intent. An Intent Mandate authorizes an agent to look for or purchase a product. A Cart Mandate then completes the payment. According to Google, this ensures merchants can confirm that the agent is acting within the user’s request.

Real-Time and Delegated Transactions

AP2 supports both direct and delegated use cases. In real-time purchases, a user issues an Intent Mandate to find a product and later confirms the payment with a Cart Mandate. In delegated tasks, the user sets detailed conditions such as price limits in advance. If those conditions are met, the agent can generate a Cart Mandate without further approval.

Google emphasized that this system provides a record of who authorized what. Still, some observers remain cautious, noting, “The challenge is not just enabling transactions but proving accountability when something goes wrong.”

Industry Support and Next Steps

The protocol is launching with broad industry participation. Companies from finance, technology, and security, including Okta, Confluent, and 1Password, are already involved.

To help other organizations adopt the standard, Google has published specifications, documentation, and sample implementations on its public GitHub repository. The company said updates and additional examples will be added over time as more partners begin to use the protocol.