When an AI agent pays with a card, the payment itself travels fine. What gets lost is the instruction behind it: what the consumer actually authorized, and whether this purchase falls inside that authority. EMVCo, the standards body owned by the major card networks, closed public comments Sept. 30 on a framework meant to fix that gap for card-based agentic payments.
Highlights#
- The "Framework for Specifications," out for request for comment since Sept. 1, proposes a common foundation for consumer intent, agent identification, and signals that an agent was involved in a transaction. Oliver Manahan, EMVCo's director of engagement and operations, told PYMNTS the framework defines data flows, not business rules; approval decisions stay with networks, issuers, and other participants.
- The centerpiece is "Intent Services," a shared layer where participants register, reference, retrieve, and manage consumer-authorized intent before, during, and after a transaction. A credential proves the payment method can be used; the intent layer carries separate limits on what the agent may buy, at what price, and within what time window.
- EMVCo may add "know your agent" (KYA) capabilities: stable, interoperable metadata identifying an agent, supporting risk evaluation, auditability, and an accountability chain. Separate agentic transaction indicators would flag when a payment was agent-initiated.
- Historical intent must persist for dispute resolution, Manahan said. The task force is now collating feedback, with EMV 3-D Secure, Payment Tokenization, Secure Remote Commerce, and Digital Payment Credential flagged as candidate areas for enhancement.
Why it matters#
Intent records that survive the transaction are the raw material of agent-payment dispute resolution. Escrow, reputation, and settlement rails all assume you can answer "what was the agent authorized to do?": EMVCo is working to make that answer travel with the payment itself.