Alchemy and Visa are bringing AI agents to the payment market: AgentCard has been launched
The era of autonomous finance for artificial intelligence has officially begun. Blockchain infrastructure platform Alchemy, together with payment giant Visa, has launched AgentCard — a new service that provides AI agents with a full set of tools for conducting online transactions on behalf of the user.
The solution is built on Visa Intelligent Commerce and includes a virtual Visa card, a linked email address, a phone number, and a cryptocurrency wallet. Developers need just one API request to configure an agent to pay for goods and services in minutes.
How it works
AI agents running on models from OpenAI or Anthropic gain the ability to independently book airline tickets, order groceries, or manage subscriptions. The owner does not need to participate in every step of the process — the system handles the routine.
Security is ensured by built-in restrictions: spending limits can be set, purchases in certain store categories can be prohibited, and personal budgets can be configured. By default, transactions go through Visa tokens, preserving access to banking bonuses and credit lines. If the merchant supports digital assets, the service automatically switches to the crypto wallet.
"Every technological shift creates new economic participants. AI agents are the natural next step, and they need direct access to the global economy," said Alchemy CEO Nikil Viswanathan.
Visa representatives emphasize that their infrastructure guarantees the security and scalability of such operations. The AgentCard protocol independently selects the optimal payment method depending on what the merchant supports.
This is not the first step in this direction. Previously, MetaMask announced a wallet for the era of autonomous AI, and Coinbase launched a service that connects agents to user accounts for trading and payments within set limits.
My expert opinion: AgentCard from Alchemy and Visa is not just another integration product, but an important infrastructure bridge between the world of cryptocurrencies and traditional finance. I see this as the beginning of the formation of a new economic layer, where AI agents will become full-fledged market participants. However, the key challenge remains the issue of trust and security — once an agent gains access to real money, the risk of abuse and errors increases many times over.