Every large payment network has built its own way to answer a simple question: which operator stands behind this AI agent? On September 10, three of them said they would make those answers legible to each other.
Ant International, Mastercard and Visa are working toward a shared framework they call Know-Your-Agent. The goal is coverage across card networks, wallet providers, agent platforms and marketplaces, with each participant keeping its own verification and decisioning. Work will run through BuildFin, an industry platform convened by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Three mechanisms carry the design. Traceability across networks links an agent to a validated operator, cardholder or organization so its activity can be attributed. Common certification tests agents against security and behavioral requirements. Continuous monitoring scores them on identity and transaction signals, which keeps a passing grade current instead of granting it once.
Each company already has machinery to build on. Visa brought its Trusted Agent Protocol and Mastercard its Verifiable Intent. From Ant International comes an Agentic Mobile Protocol, open-sourced in April. A trust rating inside it decides how much freedom an agent gets, and transfers between two agents can clear at fractions of a cent.
The commercial case rests on size, and the projection the companies cite came from McKinsey’s QuantumBlack unit in January. Its range for agent-mediated consumer commerce in 2030 runs from $3T to $5T. Shoppers will not hand credentials to software that cannot prove who is responsible for it.
