Macao's MPay allows AI agents to make payments on behalf of users

MPay, a leading e-wallet in the Macao Special Administrative Region, will adopt Ant International's Agentic Mobile Protocol, allowing authorized artificial intelligence agents to initiate payments on behalf of users, the company said on Friday.

The partnership makes MPay one of the first e-wallets to integrate AMP, as payment platforms seek to adapt to a shift toward agentic commerce, in which AI tools can search for products and services, compare options and complete transactions with user approval.

A key component of AMP is an enhanced "Know Your Agent" authentication framework that provides a standardized trust rating system for AI agents. It is designed to allow merchants to verify not only a customer's identity but also the identity and trustworthiness of the AI agent acting on the customer's behalf, the company said.

The framework is intended to help merchants determine whether an AI-initiated transaction reflects genuine purchasing intent, addressing an emerging challenge as AI agents take on a greater role in online commerce.

Under the planned integration, MPay users will be able to authorize eligible AI agents to invoke MPay to make payments, with spending limits and other conditions set by the user. Users can also review or revoke authorizations, the company said.

Singapore-based Ant International announced the global rollout of AMP at its 2026 Inclusion Conference on the Bund. The protocol is designed to facilitate secure and seamless purchases through AI agents while helping merchants overcome challenges such as cross-border interoperability as agentic commerce scales globally.

MPay currently supports cross-border payments in about 60 countries and regions, according to the company. In April, it launched an AI Payment Assistant that allows local merchants and developers to integrate MPay's payment capabilities.

The AMP integration is intended to connect Macao merchants with broader cross-border travel and consumer services, the company said.

Gavin Zhao, president and chief product and technology officer of Macau Pass Group, said payments would be a key link between AI agents and real-world commercial services.