Mastercard Launches Virtual Cards for AI Shopping Agents

Mastercard has introduced a payment system designed for AI shopping agents, allowing consumers to issue virtual cards with predefined spending limits and merchant restrictions. The move represents a strategic effort by credit card networks to establish infrastructure standards before autonomous commerce becomes mainstream.

The new offering enables cardholders to authorize AI agents to complete purchases without requiring approval for each transaction. Users can cap spending amounts, whitelist approved retailers, or mandate pre-purchase authorization depending on their comfort level.

The infrastructure race

Payment companies view this moment as critical for establishing long-term market position. "This is a land grab for infrastructure standards," Phil Bruno, chief strategy and growth officer at payments company ACI Worldwide, told Fortune. "If they set the standards for agentic commerce, they can keep the commerce in their environments for decades to come."

Visa has already partnered with Alchemy and announced Visa Intelligent Commerce, though deployment is still underway. Meta's Muse product can search and navigate checkout processes but requires final user approval before completing purchases.

Consumer skepticism remains high

Despite the infrastructure investments, consumer adoption faces significant headwinds. Research commissioned by ACI Worldwide found that only 7% of U.S. and UK fashion shoppers would allow an AI assistant to make purchases without approval under predefined conditions. More than half expressed discomfort with AI-driven purchasing altogether.

The features consumers actually want center on research rather than execution. Price-drop alerts and cross-retailer comparisons each attracted 35% of respondents, while just 18% valued personalized product suggestions.

Liability questions persist

Mastercard has developed Verifiable Intent, a digital record system documenting cardholder authorization and agent permissions. The company says this trail could help resolve disputes when problems arise and maintains that card protections would apply equally to agent-powered transactions.

However, when asked who bears responsibility if an agent makes an incorrect, fraudulent, or unauthorized purchase, Mastercard referenced the Verifiable Intent system without specifying ultimate accountability when agents act outside their instructions.

Why it matters

Payment networks are building infrastructure for a future that consumers haven't yet embraced, betting that autonomous shopping will eventually become standard practice. The company establishing dominant standards now could control transaction flows for decades. But the liability framework remains undefined, and shoppers show little interest in surrendering the final click—what Dan Coates, ACI Worldwide's Product Management Director, described as "the reward for all the hard work and late hours scrolling."

Mastercard framed the investment as preparation for inevitable change, telling Fortune that "AI is a transformational technology. It's a matter of when, not if, people use it."

These details were first reported by Fortune.