Google launches AP2: an open payments protocol for AI agents
Google just announced Agent Payments Protocol (AP2): standard meant to let AI agents securely transact across cards, bank transfers & even stablecoins. It uses cryptographically-signed “mandates” to prove intent & create an auditable trail from request → cart → payment.
Apparently 60+ partners on board (Amex, PayPal, Mastercard, Coinbase, etc.).
Google frames this as the foundation of “agentic commerce.”
Is it possible that w/i 6 months an agent-to-agent transaction for a large sum will go wrong, exposing the accountability gaps AP2 is meant to solve?
Is AP2 the missing trust layer for autonomous commerce, or just the start of a messy collision btw agents, payments standards & liability?
mdunnoconnor•4mo ago
I can see this making personal budgeting more challenging, if you have many purchase mandates in-flight. Creating a budgeting system across manual and agentic systems is an open opportunity.
dexterdog•4mo ago
Worse, what about when you have a mandate that can be filled multiple times when you only need it once?
falcor84•4mo ago
Why would it be an issue to have at-most-one semantics on this?
dexterdog•4mo ago
At most once payments have to be enforced via synchronization which makes the system much more complicated
schwentkerr•4mo ago
Google just announced Agent Payments Protocol (AP2): standard meant to let AI agents securely transact across cards, bank transfers & even stablecoins. It uses cryptographically-signed “mandates” to prove intent & create an auditable trail from request → cart → payment.
Apparently 60+ partners on board (Amex, PayPal, Mastercard, Coinbase, etc.).
Google frames this as the foundation of “agentic commerce.”
Is it possible that w/i 6 months an agent-to-agent transaction for a large sum will go wrong, exposing the accountability gaps AP2 is meant to solve?
Is AP2 the missing trust layer for autonomous commerce, or just the start of a messy collision btw agents, payments standards & liability?