Alchemy and Visa launch payments for AI agents: a new era of autonomous finance
Blockchain infrastructure platform Alchemy, together with payment giant Visa, has introduced AgentCard — a service that allows artificial intelligence to make purchases on behalf of users. This is not just another update, but a fundamental shift in how we understand economic participation.
The solution is integrated with Visa Intelligent Commerce, providing AI agents with a full set of tools for autonomous operation: a virtual Visa card, email, phone number, and a cryptocurrency wallet. Developers can configure the agent's access to payments through a single API in literally minutes. Agents based on OpenAI or Anthropic models can now book tickets, order groceries, and renew subscriptions without human involvement.
The system supports flexible spending limits, store category restrictions, and customizable budgets. By default, payments are processed via Visa tokens, preserving banking bonuses and credit lines. If a merchant accepts digital assets, the service automatically switches to the crypto wallet.
Alchemy CEO Nikhil Viswanathan rightly noted that every technological shift creates new economic participants, and AI agents are the next stage. Visa, in turn, guarantees the security and scalability of such transactions. The AgentCard protocol itself selects the optimal payment method depending on merchant support.
Interestingly, this step continues a trend started by MetaMask in June with the announcement of a wallet for the era of autonomous AI, followed by Coinbase, which launched a service for connecting agents to user accounts. It is clear that the infrastructure for autonomous agents is being formed right now, and this will change not only the crypto industry but the entire global economy.
My view: AgentCard is a bridge between traditional finance and a decentralized future. However, the key challenge remains in control and security: entrusting an agent with unlimited access to funds is a risk that will require new standards of auditing and verification. Nevertheless, for the market, this is a powerful signal: AI agents are becoming full-fledged economic entities.