Mastercard jumps into AI-powered card payments! Helping DBS Taiwan complete its first AI proxy payment and integrate Lobster.cash

Mastercard partners with Standard Chartered Taiwan to complete the first AI proxy payment, integrating the Lobster.cash platform to ensure transaction security. At the same time, Visa has also launched a dedicated tool, and the two giants are officially competing in the AI proxy payment market.

Mastercard partners with Standard Chartered Taiwan and Lobster.cash

AI proxy payments have now entered Taiwan! International payment giant Mastercard recently partnered with Standard Chartered Bank (Taiwan) to complete the first identity-verified proxy AI transaction, assisting consumers in matching airport transfer services. After selecting a plan and authorizing, consumers complete reservations and payments using their linked Mastercard.

Mastercard Taiwan General Manager Chen Yi-wen stated that this symbolizes that proxy AI has practically integrated into consumers’ daily payment experiences, and consumers still retain control over the transaction process.

Mastercard is not stopping its expansion. Yesterday (4/16), it further announced a collaboration with Crossmint, a provider of crypto payment infrastructure, and its AI proxy payment platform Lobster.cash, to integrate Mastercard Agent Pay with the Verifiable Intent framework into an open-source AI proxy platform.

Crossmint co-founder Alfonso Gómez-Jordana Mañas pointed out that after integration, users do not need to apply for new wallets or new cards; existing cards can serve AI proxies; Mastercard Digital Officer Pablo Fourez also noted that this allows Mastercard’s trusted payment network to extend to open proxy platforms, enabling developers to innovate securely while safeguarding consumer safety and control.

Image source: Lobster.cash official website Lobster.cash is a solution for AI proxy payments

What is Mastercard Agent Pay?

Mastercard launched the Mastercard Agent Pay program in April 2025. This technology is specifically designed for proxy AI-initiated payment transactions, providing a safer payment experience for consumers, merchants, and card issuers.

Mastercard Agent Pay incorporates Mastercard’s Smart Proxy Code technology, requiring all trusted AI proxies to be registered and verified. The system issues a unique code for each proxy AI to ensure its identity can be recognized, and consumers can fully control the proxy’s purchasing rights, setting clear spending conditions and limits.

Additionally, Mastercard combines the Verifiable Intent framework, co-developed with Google, to generate tamper-proof encrypted authorization records, ensuring that every AI-initiated transaction aligns with the user’s explicit intent and maintaining the issuer’s regulatory oversight.

Visa also has early deployments, and the two giants are competing in the AI proxy payment market

While Mastercard actively expands its footprint, another payment giant, Visa, is also making moves.

As reported previously by Crypto City, Visa recently launched an experimental product called “Visa CLI,” a command-line interface designed specifically for AI proxies, allowing software agents to initiate payments directly from terminal environments, bypassing the traditional graphical authorization stage. This enables developers to implement programmatic card payments via text commands, reducing the security risks and operational burdens associated with managing API keys.

Visa is also actively involved in setting standards for AI proxies. Its CLI tool, in collaboration with Coinbase, supports the x402 protocol, which is complementary, and its previously launched Trusted Agent Protocol has gained support from industry partners such as Adyen, Coinbase, Microsoft, and Shopify.

• Related article: Visa Trusted Agent Protocol: Using cryptographic signing keys, merchants no longer need to worry about malicious AI proxies

As Visa and Mastercard respectively integrate standards and security frameworks for proxies, this AI-driven machine-to-machine commerce competition has officially begun.