Google Cloud unveils open protocol for agentic payments

Google Cloud has launched the Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) in an effort to establish a global standard for secure payments initiated by autonomous artificial intelligence (AI) agents.

It was created in collaboration with over 60 technology and payment companies, including Mastercard, PayPal, American Express, and major Southeast Asian e-commerce platforms such as Lazada and Shopee.

With AP2, Google Cloud wants to address a new e-commerce challenge: how to safely manage transactions initiated by autonomous AI agents rather than humans pressing a buy button, addressing questions about authorisation, authenticity and accountability of agentic payments.

AP2 is designed to provide a common language for secure and compliant transactions between AI agents and merchants, preventing a fragmented environment and supporting a wide range of payment methods, including regular credit cards and real-time bank transfers.

The protocol can be used as an extension of the existing Agent2Agent (A2A) protocol that lets AI agents communicate with each other, and the model context protocol (MCP) that allows AI agents to connect to external data and tools.

AP2 builds trust through a system of “mandates” – tamper-proof, cryptographically signed digital contracts that can prove a user’s instructions. These directives, signed by verifiable credentials, establish a non-repudiable audit trail for each transaction.

For real-time transactions, for example, a user who requests that an agent find and purchase a product must sign a cart mandate to approve the final shopping cart. An immutable record of items and prices is then generated, ensuring the user only pays for what they agreed to.

For tasks such as purchasing concert tickets as soon as they are available, a user signs an intent mandate that sets limitations such as price limits. This serves as pre-authorisation for the agent to complete the purchase automatically once the conditions are met.

In both cases, the chain of evidence will provide answers to critical questions, such as who authorised a payment and if the request is genuine, establishing a clear path to accountability.

Meant to be versatile, AP2 is expected to deliver new e-commerce experiences. Examples include agents that can automatically purchase an out-of-stock item when it becomes available in a specified colour, as well as agents that can coordinate complex bookings, such as a flight and hotel, within a set budget.

It is also intended to be universal, ensuring security for emerging payment systems such as stablecoins and cryptocurrencies. Google has already launched a production-ready extension for agent-based crypto payments in collaboration with Coinbase, the Ethereum Foundation and MetaMask.

Payment technology suppliers, including Adyen, Ant International and UnionPay International, as well as Asian tech leaders, Airwallex, Fiuu, Garena and Razer, have all shown their support for the protocol.

Jacob Dai, co-founder and chief technology officer of Airwallex, a financial technology company, said, “Google’s AP2 is a critical step forward in building a secure, interoperable ecosystem for agentic AI payments. This protocol gives businesses and consumers the confidence to delegate tasks to AI agents.”

Mark Micallef, managing director for Southeast Asia at Google Cloud, noted the region’s thriving digital economy, which will generate over $263bn in gross merchandise value from e-commerce and online services by 2024.

“AP2 establishes the core building blocks for secure transactions that will drive further growth, creating clear opportunities for the industry – including networks, issuers, merchants and users – to innovate in adjacent areas like seamless agent authorisation,” he said.

Google has made the technical specifications, documentation and reference implementations for AP2 available on a public GitHub repository, inviting the broader technology community to contribute to its development.