Agent Payments Protocol (AP2)
The Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) is an open protocol by Google that secures payments by AI agents with signed mandates for intent, cart and payment.
AP2 was introduced in September 2025 and designed as an extension for agent protocols such as A2A and MCP. It describes three mandates: the intent mandate records what the user wants, the cart mandate the specific cart, and the payment mandate the payment toward the network. The mandates are meant as verifiable digital credentials.
One AP2 variant now uses the same layered logic as Verifiable Intent, based on SD-JWT. For merchants, that means fewer formats to support.
Example
A user asks her agent to buy running shoes under CHF 120. The intent mandate records this wish. When the agent finds a matching pair, a cart mandate with the specific cart is created, and the payment mandate accompanies the payment.
How it differs
AP2 and Verifiable Intent solve the same task for payments and are converging. Visa's Trusted Agent Protocol and Web Bot Auth rather identify the agent toward the merchant. The Agentic Commerce Protocol describes the checkout between agent and shop.
In practice
- Check whether your partners use classic AP2 mandates or the chain converged with Verifiable Intent.
- Keep intent, cart and payment mandates together, so the context of a purchase remains fully proven.
- Test verification with the project's reference data before you accept payments in production.
Role in KYA
KYA recognizes classic AP2 mandates in JSON format but does not verify them in this version, and the certificate says so explicitly. The AP2 chain converged with Verifiable Intent is fully verified through the VI adapter.
Related check: Scope of the action (intent_scope). Is the action within the mandate's action type, amount limit, currency and counterparty?
Frequently asked questions
What is AP2?
The Agent Payments Protocol by Google, an open protocol for payments by AI agents. It works with three signed mandates: intent, cart and payment.
How are AP2 and Verifiable Intent related?
Both describe the instruction and limits of an agent purchase. One AP2 variant uses the same layered logic as Verifiable Intent; the approaches are converging.
Does KYA verify AP2 mandates?
The AP2 chain converged with Verifiable Intent, yes. KYA recognizes classic AP2 mandates in JSON format but does not verify them in this version, and the certificate states this instead of failing silently.
Is AP2 tied to specific payment networks?
No. AP2 is designed as an open protocol meant to work with various payment methods and networks. Which of them are supported depends on the providers involved.