Alchemy and Visa launch AgentCard: AI agents gain access to global payments
Blockchain platform Alchemy, together with payment industry giant Visa, has introduced an innovative service called AgentCard. This solution marks a new stage in the evolution of artificial intelligence: AI agents can now independently make online purchases on behalf of the user, fully autonomously.
The key feature of AgentCard is its integration with the Visa Intelligent Commerce infrastructure. Thanks to this, neural networks receive a full-fledged digital "passport": a virtual Visa card, a linked email, a phone number, and a cryptocurrency wallet. Developers need less than a minute to grant an agent access to paying for goods and services through a single API.
Imagine a scenario: an AI agent based on OpenAI or Anthropic independently books airline tickets, orders groceries, or renews subscriptions. You don't need to participate in the process — the system does everything for you. This is not futuristic, but a reality that is already arriving.
Security and control remain in the user's hands. AgentCard supports flexible spending limits, restrictions by store categories, and customizable budgets. By default, all payments go through Visa tokens, allowing you to retain bank bonuses and credit lines. However, if the merchant accepts digital assets, the service can automatically switch to a crypto wallet. The protocol itself chooses the optimal payment method.
A New Economic Paradigm
"Every technological shift has created new economic participants. AI agents are the next stage, and they need access to the global economy," emphasizes Alchemy CEO Nikhil Viswanathan. Visa, for its part, guarantees the security and scalability of such transactions using its proven infrastructure.
This is not the first step towards autonomous finance for AI. Previously, MetaMask announced a wallet for the era of AI agents, and Coinbase launched a service for connecting neural networks to user accounts. However, the partnership with Visa is perhaps the most significant signal that AI agents are becoming full-fledged participants in the global economy, not just tools.
My analysis: AgentCard is not just another product. It is a bridge between decentralized finance and the traditional payment system, making AI agents not just smart, but also financially capable. In the coming years, we will see an explosive growth in the number of such "autonomous consumers," and those who do not prepare the infrastructure now risk being left on the sidelines of the new economy.