- Google has introduced an open-source protocol for AI agent payments, with support from firms like Coinbase, Paypal, American Express, and the Ethereum Foundation.
- The new protocol builds on Google’s Agent2Agent framework, adding the ability for AI agents to make payments using cards, stablecoins, and bank transfers.
- A crypto-specific extension, x402, has been released to help integrate cryptocurrency transactions.
- The Ethereum Foundation states that this protocol lines up with its ERC-8004 standard, which aims to help AI agents securely transact on Ethereum.
- The initiative is described as currency-agnostic and is supported by a mix of traditional financial institutions and major players in the crypto ecosystem.
Google launched an open-source protocol on Tuesday designed to let AI agents securely handle financial transactions. The protocol is backed by major financial and crypto firms, including Coinbase, PayPal, American Express, Etsy, and the Ethereum Foundation.
The Agent Payments protocol expands on Google’s previous Agent2Agent framework, which provides standards for communication between AI agents—software assistants that carry out tasks for people or organizations online. The addition enables these AI agents to complete transactions using credit and debit cards, stablecoins (cryptocurrencies pegged to stable assets like the U.S. dollar), and real-time bank transfers. Google said the protocol is intended to create a “common language for secure, compliant transactions between agents and merchants.”
A key update is the crypto-specific extension called x402, which supports digital asset payments within the framework. The Ethereum Foundation contributed to developing x402 and said the project complements its work on ERC-8004. ERC-8004 is a standard for how AI agents can securely find, validate, and transact on the Ethereum network.
“ERC-8004 will support many forms of payments, but having the x402 extension helps the developer experience,” said Davide Crapis, head of the newly announced AI team at the Ethereum Foundation, explaining that x402 further improves integration for agents built on blockchain technology.
“It’s exciting to see the idea of agents paying each other resonate with the broader AI community,” said Erik Reppel, head of engineering at Coinbase Developer Platform. “Bringing x402 into AP2 to power stablecoin payments made sense—it’s a natural playground for agents to start transacting with each other and testing out crypto rails.”
The protocol is also being supported by notable crypto companies like Mysten Labs (creator of Sui), MetaMask, and Eigen Labs, which is behind EigenLayer. Google stated that its aim is to make the protocol both platform- and currency-agnostic.
For more details, Google Cloud Tech published additional information in this announcement on Twitter.
The Ethereum Foundation reports that the ERC-8004 standard is close to completion and has received support from several members of the Google Agent2Agent team.
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