If you haven't been paying attention to the payments industry in the past month, you might have missed some important news. On September 29th, Stripe and OpenAI jointly announced that ChatGPT users could make purchases directly within the chat window, eliminating the need to redirect to the merchant's website. The next day, Visa launched a stablecoin pre-load pilot program, allowing financial institutions to use USDC and EURC for cross-border settlements. A day later, Stripe made another move, releasing a platform called "Open Issuance" that allows any business to issue its own stablecoin. On October 9th, market news broke that Mastercard and Coinbase were bidding for the stablecoin infrastructure company BVNK, with bids ranging from $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion. Just last December, the company's valuation was only $750 million. This is just the tip of the iceberg. If you extend the timeline to the entire month of September, you'll find that Mastercard, Google, Visa, and Stripe all announced major moves in AI-powered payments and stablecoins almost simultaneously. Key News Events Review Let's first take a complete look back at the key events of this month. Nine major news releases in one month—this level of intensity is rare in the payments industry. More importantly, these announcements aren't isolated product launches; they reinforce each other and build upon each other. Who Will Legislate for AI Agents? When AI agents begin initiating payments on behalf of humans, truly thorny questions arise: who authorizes and holds them accountable? And how can we prevent AI from completing erroneous transactions under false pretenses? Traditional payment systems are built on the simple premise that humans personally click the purchase button. But when this premise is broken, the entire authorization and accountability mechanism must be redesigned. Stripe and OpenAI's answer is "Shared Payment Tokens," or SPTs. This new payment primitive allows AI agents to initiate payments on behalf of users without access to their actual account or card information. Each SPT is limited to a specific merchant and shopping cart amount, giving the AI sufficient payment permissions while protecting user privacy and security. Stripe facilitates transactions, applies fraud detection, and enforces token control in real time. ChatGPT's instant checkout feature is powered by this technology, allowing users to purchase items from Etsy directly within chat. This feature will soon be expanded to Shopify merchants, including brands like Glossier, Vuori, Spanx, and SKIMS.
Google chose another path. It proposed the AP2 protocol, which uses three verifiable digital credentials: Intent Mandate, Cart Mandate, and Payment Mandate. The Intent Mandate defines the conditions under which the user authorizes an agent to purchase; the Cart Mandate is the user's cryptographically signed authorization for a specific shopping cart; and the Payment Mandate signals to the payment network and issuer that this is a transaction involving an AI agent.
This mechanism provides fine-grained control and traceable audit trails. Google emphasizes that AP2 is an open protocol, an extension of A2A and Model Context Protocol, and does not belong to any single company.
Mastercard's strategy is more pragmatic. "Agent Pay" does not emphasize technological innovation; its core value lies in compatibility. Mastercard is collaborating with multiple platforms, including Stripe, Google, and Ant International's Antom, to ensure its payment network seamlessly integrates with the mainstream AI agent ecosystem. The three protocols launched around the same time. They attempt to solve the same problem, yet take completely different approaches. Stripe chose to first dominate the market and then promote standards; Google established standards first and then attracted applications; and Mastercard seeks not to dominate, but to be present. History has repeatedly proven that whoever controls the standards controls the future. This battle over protocols is quietly shaping the power dynamics of the AI business era. The Stablecoin War for Water, Electricity, and Gas Stablecoin transaction volume has long surpassed the combined volume of Visa and Mastercard, the two largest payment giants. This figure has reawakened the industry's awareness that stablecoins are no longer merely experiments in the crypto world but are becoming the foundational infrastructure of the global financial system. This trend has been further amplified by the rise of AI-powered payment agents. AI agents require a 24/7, instant settlement, low-cost, and programmable payment method. Traditional bank wire transfers can take days, and cross-border payments often involve multiple layers of intermediaries. Stablecoins are a natural fit for this need, settling in seconds with minimal fees. They can also be integrated with smart contracts to execute complex payment logic. Google's AP2 protocol explicitly prioritizes stablecoins as a primary means of payment. In their design, stablecoins serve as a universal language among AI agents, offering both digital throughput and monetary stability. Traditional payment giants have adopted different strategies. Visa launched a stablecoin pre-load pilot program, allowing financial institutions to top up Visa Direct accounts with USDC and EURC. In other words, stablecoins are no longer competitors outside the Visa ecosystem but are being absorbed into the network. Visa's head of product, Mark Nelsen, stated in an interview with Reuters that the underlying software of the global payment system is extremely difficult to rebuild, and integrating stablecoin technology into existing processes is a more realistic approach. Stripe's Open Issuance initiative is even more radical. This platform not only supports stablecoin payments but also allows any business to issue its own stablecoin. Crucially, businesses can share in the profits generated by the reserve. In the past, issuers like Circle and Tether invested user deposited US dollars in low-risk assets like government bonds, keeping all the profits for themselves. Stripe breaks this pattern by allowing issuers and businesses to share the profits. Stripe President William Gaybrick believes that the gradual clarification of the regulatory framework has significantly lowered the barrier to entry for businesses in the stablecoin space. He predicts that dozens, if not hundreds, of enterprise stablecoins will emerge in the future. Open Issuance supports multiple chains, including Ethereum, Solana, and Stripe's own Tempo blockchain. The bidding war for BVNK reveals the true value of stablecoin infrastructure. Founded in 2021, the company focuses on helping businesses seamlessly convert between stablecoins and fiat currencies. It boasts extensive banking partnerships and multiple financial licenses, having processed over $20 billion in transactions. Last December, BVNK's valuation was only $750 million. Within a year, its valuation had jumped to between $1.5 billion and $2.5 billion. Mastercard and Coinbase were vying for the company, while Visa and Citigroup had invested in it. BVNK founders (from left to right): Chris Harmse, Jesse Hemson-Struthers, and Donald Jackson | Source: BVNK) BVNK's significance lies in its ability to bridge the gap between the traditional fiat currency system and the rapidly expanding stablecoin network. In the context of AI-powered payments, the value of this bridge is redefined. Whoever controls it possesses a critical channel between the old and new financial systems. For Mastercard, acquiring BVNK means it can quickly complete its stablecoin infrastructure and avoid being marginalized in this new wave of technological advancements. For Coinbase, this is an opportunity for strategic expansion, moving from exchanges into the broader payments sector, building a Stripe for the crypto world. BVNK's soaring valuation reflects the market's repricing of stablecoin infrastructure. In the era of AI-powered payments, these companies play a role similar to clearing houses in the traditional financial system: they handle more than just transactions; they also serve as the underlying pipeline for the flow of value. The Battle for Traffic Entrances: Protocols and infrastructure are armaments, but the real battleground lies at the application layer. Whoever accustoms users to completing purchases on AI-powered platforms will seize the future of commerce. ChatGPT's instant checkout is a milestone. It marks the first step in the journey of AI-powered payments from concept to reality. Users can purchase items on Etsy directly within their conversations with ChatGPT, without having to navigate to the merchant's website. Stripe provides the payment infrastructure, and OpenAI provides the traffic flow, combining to create a completely new shopping experience. Interactions between users, ChatGPT, merchants, and payment processors | Image source: ChatGPT. This feature will soon be extended to Shopify merchants, with brands like Glossier, Vuori, Spanx, and SKIMS already ready to integrate. Sam Altman says this is the starting point for AI Commerce. Google is also accelerating its efforts. It announced that it will expand its AI Mode shopping interface in the coming months to include price tracking and direct purchase features. Users can browse, compare, and order within AI Mode, with transactions ultimately completed through Google Pay. Perplexity is also not far behind. The AI search engine launched a "Buy with Pro" feature, partnering with PayPal to allow users to check out directly within the chat interface. It has also integrated with Firmly.ai, a platform backend that allows merchants to easily integrate. BCG revealed key data in a report released on October 6th. In July 2025, traffic to US retail websites from GenAI's browser and chat services increased by 4,700% year-over-year. These users also behave differently from traditional visitors, spending 32% more time on site, viewing 10% more pages, and having a 27% lower bounce rate. More importantly, by the time they arrive on a website, they're often already in the latter half of their purchasing decision. Adobe data further reinforces this point, with over half of consumers expecting to use AI assistants for shopping by the end of 2025. Traffic entry points are being rewritten. In the past, people accessed e-commerce websites through search engines or direct visits; now, AI platforms are becoming the new entry point. As consumers become accustomed to completing purchases through ChatGPT or Google AI Mode, retailers' official websites may be losing their relevance. The implications of this change are profound. Direct customer relationships that brands have spent decades cultivating may now be taken over by AI platforms. Consumer behavioral data and transaction records will no longer belong to retailers but will instead be integrated into AI databases. A War Over Rules Over the past month, we've witnessed an all-out offensive by payment giants on three fronts. At the protocol level, Stripe's ACP, Google's AP2, and Mastercard's Agent Pay are all vying for a core issue: who will set the rules for AI agents? These protocols define how AI agents initiate payments, how they are authorized, and how they are held accountable. Controlling the protocols means controlling the discourse in the era of AI commerce. At the infrastructure level, Visa's stablecoin pilot, Stripe's Open Issuance, and the bidding war over BVNK are all vying for an answer to another question: who controls the pipelines through which value flows. Stablecoin transaction volume has surpassed that of traditional payment networks, and they are becoming the preferred payment tool for AI-powered agents. Whoever owns stablecoin infrastructure will possess the clearing and minting power of this new era. At the application layer, ChatGPT's instant checkout and Google's AI Mode are competing for the final hurdle: who will become the new traffic gateway? As users become accustomed to shopping on AI-powered platforms, retailers' official websites and brand portals are quietly being replaced. This shift in traffic means a shift in commercial power. These seemingly disparate actions actually point to a common goal: redefining the underlying rules of business operations at a time when AI agents are becoming the new type of consumer. This is a reshuffling of power: from humans to agents, from brands to algorithms, and from payment networks to stablecoin infrastructure. Every technological revolution brings about a redrawing of the power landscape, and AI-powered payments are no exception. In this war, perhaps the most important question isn't who will win, but who will be excluded. BVNK's valuation has tripled in less than a year, a clear signal. The market is repricing the entire payments ecosystem. Companies still on the sidelines may find they've missed the window to enter. What's happened over the past month isn't the beginning of change, but rather the acceleration of it. Regulatory frameworks have been established, technological capabilities have matured, and market demand has become apparent. What remains is simply execution and competition. A new business order is taking shape, and those companies that haven't yet recognized their altered position will pay the price in this reshaping of order.
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