The agentic commerce standards
Five open standards underpin agentic commerce. Each page below is answer-first, dated and linked to primary sources.
Agentic Commerce Protocol
OpenAI and Stripe
Agent checkout protocol powering Instant Checkout in ChatGPT. OpenAI + Stripe, Apache 2.0.
verified 2026-06-10
Universal Commerce Protocol
Google and Shopify (with Etsy, Wayfair, Target, Walmart)
Full-journey commerce standard powering agentic checkout on Google AI Mode and Gemini. Google + Shopify, Apache 2.0.
verified 2026-06-10
Agent Payments Protocol
Google, with 60+ partner organizations
Payment-agnostic framework for agent-led payments. Google, 60+ partners, extends A2A and MCP.
verified 2026-05-31
Model Context Protocol
Created by Anthropic; donated to the Agentic AI Foundation (Linux Foundation)
The context layer connecting agents to tools and data. Anthropic, now a Linux Foundation project.
verified 2026-05-31
x402
Created by Coinbase; specification stewarded by the x402 Foundation
HTTP-native stablecoin payments for agents and APIs. Coinbase, built on the 402 status code.
verified 2026-05-31
Adjacent protocols and programs
Trust, card-network and agent-layer initiatives that interlock with the five core standards: agent verification (TAP), card-rail agentic payments (Mastercard Agent Pay), agent-to-agent communication (A2A) and machine payments (MPP).
Trusted Agent Protocol
Visa, developed in collaboration with Cloudflare
Visa trust framework: merchants cryptographically verify AI agents at checkout. With Cloudflare, RFC 9421.
verified 2026-06-10
Mastercard Agent Pay
Mastercard
Mastercard agentic payments program: verified agents pay via Agentic Tokens. Proprietary network program.
verified 2026-06-10
Agent2Agent Protocol
Created by Google; now a Linux Foundation project
Agent-to-agent communication standard. Created by Google, now a Linux Foundation project. Apache 2.0.
verified 2026-06-10
Machine Payments Protocol
Tempo and Stripe (co-authors)
Programmatic agent payments over HTTP, stablecoins and fiat. Open standard by Tempo and Stripe.
verified 2026-06-10
Side-by-side view: author, license, payment type, transport and adoption.
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A note when a standard moves (ACP, UCP, AP2, MCP, x402). No spam.