Mastercard unveils AI payment network backed by Ripple and Coinbase

Mastercard has launched an AI payments network backed by more than 30 companies, including Ripple, Coinbase, and the Solana Foundation, to enable autonomous software agents to transact without human intervention.

According to Mastercard’s June 10 announcement, the new platform, called Agent Pay for Machines, is designed to support high-volume, low-value transactions carried out by AI agents acting on behalf of consumers and businesses.

The company said the system enables automated payments, settlements, and machine-to-machine transactions while allowing users to set spending limits, authorization requirements, and settlement conditions. Mastercard added that the platform can support multiple payment networks as well as stablecoin-based transactions.

The launch brings together a group of payment, blockchain, and financial technology firms that includes Adyen, Stripe, Cloudflare, OKX, Coinbase, and Ripple.

Mastercard said the network is intended to provide infrastructure for automated digital commerce as AI-powered software increasingly performs tasks independently.

Ripple and Coinbase support machine-driven payments

Among the companies backing the initiative, Ripple highlighted the importance of fast settlement infrastructure for autonomous transactions. During Mastercard’s product launch, RippleX Senior Vice President Markus Infanger said AI agents are already capable of activities such as independent invoicing and purchasing computing resources.

Coinbase also emphasized the need for payment standards that can operate across different systems. Nina Coughlin, Head of Stablecoin Business Development at Coinbase, said AI agents are creating a new economic environment that requires payment infrastructure capable of handling machine-speed transactions.

Coughlin stated that Coinbase is working with Mastercard “to help advance an open and interoperable framework for agentic payments, combining trusted payment networks with programmable digital dollars and open standards like x402.”

Support from the Solana Foundation further highlights the industry’s interest in automated payment infrastructure. Rishin Sharma, Head of AI Growth at the Solana Foundation, said future payment systems for AI agents will need to operate across stablecoins, cards, and other payment rails, adding that “Solana is built to enable these types of solutions at scale.”

Stablecoins become part of Mastercard’s blockchain strategy

Support for AI-powered payments arrives shortly after Mastercard expanded its stablecoin settlement infrastructure. As reported earlier by crypto.news, the company recently enabled card settlement using six regulated dollar-backed stablecoins, including Circle’s USDC, Paxos-issued PYUSD, USDG and USDP, Ripple’s RLUSD, and SoFiUSD.

Under that rollout, Mastercard said settlement services would operate across multiple blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, Base, Arbitrum, Canton, Tempo, and the XRP Ledger.

The company also said issuers and acquirers would be able to settle transactions during weekends, holidays, and outside traditional banking hours while continuing to use existing settlement systems.

Additional details from Mastercard showed the first phase of the stablecoin settlement service will cover parts of the United States and Latin America before expanding further through 2026.