Health · Europa Today
Ant International, Mastercard, and Visa have initiated a collaboration on a Know-Your-Agent (KYA) interoperability framework to simplify agent onboarding and identification across payment networks, digital wallets, agent platforms, and marketplaces. This framework is designed to ensure shared principles while preserving each network’s verification and decision-making processes.
The initiative aims to enable AI agents to transition from making recommendations to completing purchases on behalf of users. By 2030, AI agents are projected to orchestrate between US$3 trillion and US$5 trillion in global consumer commerce. The collaboration builds on existing protocols such as Visa’s Trusted Agent Protocol, Mastercard’s Verifiable Intent, and Ant International’s Agentic Mobile Protocol.
The KYA framework focuses on three key areas: 1. **Cross-network Operator Traceability**: Each agent is linked to a validated operator, cardholder, or business/organization, ensuring clear attribution of agent activity. 2. **Shared Certification Requirements**: Agents are assessed against security and behavioral standards to ensure they operate as intended. 3. **Continuous Transaction Monitoring**: Agents are continuously monitored using identity and transaction signals for ongoing assessments and certification.
The collaboration centers on Singapore through BuildFin.ai, an industry platform convened by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). It seeks to advance common approaches for AI agent verification, accountability, and risk management across payment ecosystems. The goal is to enable secure, scalable agentic commerce while maintaining strong safeguards for consumers, merchants, and financial institutions.
Key participants include: - **Rubail Birwadker** (Global Head of Growth Products and Strategic Partnerships, Visa): Emphasizes the need for trust as AI agents become integral to consumer transactions. - **Pablo Fourez** (Chief Digital Officer, Mastercard): Highlights the importance of interoperability to recognize trusted agents and verify user intent. - **Jiang-Ming Yang** (Chief Innovation Officer, Ant International): Stresses the need for richer trust signals, including capabilities, behavior, execution performance, and risk data.
Ant International is a leading global digital payment and finAI solutions provider, supporting inclusive growth through its techfin platform. Its Alipay+ connects 150 million merchants to over 50 global digital wallets, reaching 2 billion user accounts across Asia and the Middle East.
Ant International, Mastercard, and Visa are part of a broader push to strengthen trust, common principles, and governance in the agentic commerce ecosystem. The collaboration aligns with the Safeguards for Agentic Finance at Runtime (SAFR) framework, ensuring secure and reliable AI agent operations across payment networks.
Source: Morningstar
