Cloudflare announced collaborations with major payment companies to build an authentication system for AI-driven shopping. The company confirmed on October 15 that it is working with Visa, Mastercard and American Express to deploy Web Bot Auth. This protocol will enable AI agents to securely interact with millions of merchants worldwide.
The initiative aims to define how AI agents will verify identity, process payments, and act on behalf of consumers. The Trusted Agent Protocol, developed by Cloudflare and Visa, will be integrated into Visa’s agentic payment platform, Visa Intelligent Commerce.
Mastercard plans to incorporate Web Bot Auth into Mastercard Agent Pay, while American Express will use it within its agentic commerce programme. These protocols will allow merchants to confirm whether an AI agent is legitimate and determine its intent in transactions.
Jorn Lambert, chief product officer at Mastercard, noted that agents could improve shopping experiences, but only if trusted. He said, “We are simplifying agent verification for merchants and ensuring a unified approach to agentic commerce that is scalable, secure, and widely adopted.” Luke Gebb, EVP and head of Amex Digital Labs at American Express, added that trust and accountability remain central to their approach.
Web Bot Auth will enable merchants to assess agent identity, understand customer intent and process various payment methods, including credit, debit and crypto. Cloudflare said AI agents using its SDK will be able to shop autonomously across global retail platforms.
Other companies providing feedback on the framework include Adyen, Checkout.com, Circle, Fiserv, Microsoft, Nuvei, Shopify, Webflow and Worldpay.
Cloudflare has also supported the development of open protocols such as the Agent Payments Protocol and is working with Coinbase on the x402 Foundation to accelerate adoption.
Cloudflare described agentic commerce as a new phase of digital trade, where AI agents handle purchasing tasks on behalf of users. The company stated its goal is to create a secure environment for these interactions at an internet scale.
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