Mastercard has launched Agent Pay for Machines, a payments system built for autonomous software agents. The service allows AI agents to send and receive payments without direct human action. It brings Ripple, Coinbase, and Solana Foundation into Mastercard’s push for automated digital commerce.
Ripple Brings XRPL and RLUSD to Mastercard’s Agent Pay System
Mastercard introduced Agent Pay for Machines on June 10 as a tool for machine-led payments. The system targets high-volume and low-value transactions across business and consumer use cases. It also supports automated settlement between software agents and connected machines.
Ripple will support the system through the XRP Ledger and its RLUSD stablecoin. The company said that settlement will become more important as automated commerce grows. It also sees blockchain rails as useful for fast and rule-based payments.
RippleX senior vice president Markus Infanger said XRPL and RLUSD support enterprise-grade agent payments. He said the tools offer settlement in seconds, predictable costs, and programmable compliance. The setup also creates an audit trail for automated transactions.
Coinbase Supports Open Standards for Agent Payments
Coinbase joined the Mastercard program as demand rises for faster machine payments. The company said AI agents need open and interoperable payment systems. It also pointed to programmable digital dollars as a key part of this shift.
Nina Coughlin, Coinbase’s head of Stablecoin Business Development, said AI agents are creating a new economy. She said this market needs payment tools that move faster than legacy systems. Coinbase will work with Mastercard on standards for agentic payments.
The company also highlighted x402, an open standard for internet-native payments. This framework can support automated transactions between apps, services, and agents. Therefore, Coinbase’s role adds stablecoin and standards expertise to the Mastercard system.
Solana Foundation Adds Scale for Machine Transactions
The Solana Foundation also backed Mastercard’s new agent payment system. It said automated commerce needs infrastructure that can process payments across several rails. These rails include stablecoins, cards, and other settlement networks.
Rishin Sharma, head of AI Growth at Solana Foundation, said payment systems must support different settlement options. He said AI agents need rails that operate across stablecoins and cards. He added that Solana can support such systems at scale.
Solana’s involvement gives Mastercard access to a high-throughput blockchain network. The network has positioned itself for fast and low-cost transactions. As a result, it fits use cases that depend on frequent machine-to-machine payments.
Mastercard Builds a Wider Automated Commerce Network
Mastercard said Agent Pay for Machines can set spending limits and authorization rules. The platform can also define settlement conditions before agents complete payments. These controls aim to reduce risk while supporting independent transactions.
The program includes more than 30 payments, blockchain, and fintech companies. Partners include Adyen, Stripe, OKX, Coinbase, Ripple, Cloudflare, and Solana Foundation. Mastercard is using this group to build infrastructure for autonomous digital commerce.
The launch expands Mastercard’s work with blockchain-based settlement and stablecoin payment tools. It also shows growing interest in payment systems built for software-led activity. However, the company is presenting the system as a controlled framework for business use.
