AP2 (Agent Payments Protocol)
Also known as: Agent Payments Protocol
A cross-industry protocol standardizing how AI agents authenticate, authorize, and settle payments on behalf of shoppers. Payments-layer counterpart to ACP and UCP.
AP2 is the Agent Payments Protocol — the specification for how agents authenticate themselves, obtain payment authorization from a shopper, and settle transactions. Where ACP and UCP focus on the shopping (product, cart, checkout) side, AP2 focuses on the payment (authorization, tokenization, settlement) side.
AP2 typically operates inside an ACP or UCP transaction — the agent receives payment authorization via AP2, then completes the shopping side via ACP or UCP. It provides the security and audit layer for agent-initiated payments, including scoped payment tokens (an agent gets authorization for one specific transaction, not open-ended spend).
Merchants don't usually integrate AP2 directly. It's handled by payment processors (Stripe, Adyen), tokenization vendors (Basis Theory, Nekuda, Skyfire), and card issuers (Lithic, Marqeta) in the background. Merchants should confirm their payment stack supports agent-payment tokens.
See also
ACP (Agentic Commerce Protocol)
OpenAI + Stripe's open protocol for agent-initiated commerce. Powers ChatGPT Instant Checkout and Copilot-adjacent commerce. Enables in-conversation purchase completion without the shopper leaving the agent.
UCP (Universal Commerce Protocol)
Google + Shopify + retail-consortium open protocol for agent commerce, endorsed at NRF 2026 by 20+ retailers including Walmart, Target, Wayfair, Etsy, and (as of Q1 2026) Amazon.
Scoped payment token
A single-transaction payment authorization used by an AI agent — limited to a specific merchant, amount, and time window. The primary payment primitive for agentic commerce.
Virtual card
A single-use or scoped-use payment card issued to an AI agent for one specific transaction. Provides tokenization, spend limits, and audit trail for agentic purchases.