# American Express: Agentic commerce and payments AI

Source: https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/american-express/payments-ai
Last updated: Oct 16, 2026

*Part of the [American Express AI strategy profile](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/american-express).*

## How is American Express preparing its payments network for AI agents?

American Express is building agentic commerce into its closed-loop network as issuer, network and acquirer. On April 14, 2026 it launched the Agentic Commerce Experiences (ACE) developer kit, with five services for select developers (agent registration, account enablement, intent intelligence, tokenized payment credentials and cart context, some still in development), and announced Amex Agent Purchase Protection, a commitment to protect eligible Card Members from charges caused by errors of registered AI agents that send authenticated purchase intent. On October 13, 2026 it published the Intent Intelligence framework: a Create Intent API, an Intent ID and a Proof of Intent Token that scopes the agent's credential to what the customer approved. Standards work started earlier: Google's Agent Payments Protocol group (September 2025), Cloudflare's Web Bot Auth (October 2025), Nekuda through Amex Ventures (May 2025) and the x402 Foundation (July 2026). Executives describe it as a trust and fraud question: Squeri said on July 24, 2026 that agentic commerce was in 'the preseason' and that agentic initiatives were not in the original 2026 spending plan. Amex has not published agent transaction volumes. ([American Express via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202604140800BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260414_BW231355-1), [American Express via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202610130930BIZWIRE_USPRX____20261013_BW636634-1), [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/13/amex-introduces-a-framework-to-prevent-ai-agents-from-making-unauthorized-purchases), [Google Cloud](https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/ai-machine-learning/announcing-agents-to-payments-ap2-protocol), [Cloudflare (Business Wire)](https://businesswire.com/news/home/20251014144421/en/Cloudflare-Collaborates-with-Leading-Payments-Companies-to-Secure-and-Enable-Agentic-Commerce), [Nekuda (Business Wire)](https://businesswire.com/news/home/20250514808097/en/Nekuda-Raises-$5M-Led-by-Madrona-Together-with-Amex-Ventures-and-Visa-Ventures-to-Power-Agentic-Payments), [Linux Foundation (PR Newswire)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/linux-foundation-announces-operational-launch-of-x402-foundation-to-standardize-internet-native-payments-for-ai-agents-and-applications-302824778.html), [PYMNTS](https://pymnts.com/earnings/2026/american-express-turns-generation-z-loyalty-into-ai-advantage))

## What has American Express launched for agentic payments?

From Amex's releases and the cited coverage. 'In development' is Amex's own marking.

| Item | What it does | Status | Date | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Agent Registration (ACE) | Verifies AI agents so only trusted agents are authorized to transact on the Amex network | In development | April 14, 2026 | [American Express via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202604140800BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260414_BW231355-1) |
| Account Enablement (ACE) | Card Members register cards for agentic transactions; designed to give granular spend controls in the Amex app | Offered to select developers | April 14, 2026 | [American Express via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202604140800BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260414_BW231355-1) |
| Payment Credentials (ACE) | Verified agents pay on a Card Member's behalf with tokenized credentials | Offered to select developers | April 14, 2026 | [American Express via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202604140800BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260414_BW231355-1) |
| Cart Context (ACE) | Shares cart details before or after a transaction for validation, authorisation and disputes | In development | April 14, 2026 | [American Express via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202604140800BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260414_BW231355-1) |
| Amex Agent Purchase Protection | Protects eligible Card Members from charges related to registered-agent error when the agent sent authenticated purchase intent; called an industry first | Future commitment; terms to apply | April 14, 2026 | [American Express via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202604140800BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260414_BW231355-1), [PYMNTS](https://pymnts.com/news/artificial-intelligence/2026/payment-networks-ready-infrastructure-agentic-commerce-scale) |
| Intent Intelligence framework | Create Intent API, customer authentication, Intent ID and Proof of Intent Token scoping the credential; published openly and available through ACE | Published | October 13, 2026 | [American Express via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202610130930BIZWIRE_USPRX____20261013_BW636634-1), [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/13/amex-introduces-a-framework-to-prevent-ai-agents-from-making-unauthorized-purchases) |
| Membership assets on AI platforms | Resy discoverable in Claude; Amex Offers and Amex Travel named as next | In production (Resy) | April 2026 | [American Express](https://americanexpress.com/en-us/newsroom/articles/travel-and-dining/american-express-partners-with-anthropic-to-make-u-s--resy-resta.html), [American Express via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202604140800BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260414_BW231355-1) |
| Graphite Business Cash card | Agentic AI for product search and checkout for business customers | In production | March 25, 2026 | [American Express via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202603250715BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260324_BW485642-1), [American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/payments/news/amex-earnings-beat-wall-street-estimates) |

## Which agentic payment standards does American Express support?

| Body or protocol | Amex's role | Date | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Nekuda (Amex Ventures) | Investor in a $5 million round for agentic-payment credential and authorisation infrastructure | May 14, 2025 | [Nekuda (Business Wire)](https://businesswire.com/news/home/20250514808097/en/Nekuda-Raises-$5M-Led-by-Madrona-Together-with-Amex-Ventures-and-Visa-Ventures-to-Power-Agentic-Payments) |
| Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) | Named by Google among 60-plus organisations shaping it; Anna Marrs said in October 2026 that Amex supports it | September 16, 2025; October 1, 2026 | [Google Cloud](https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/ai-machine-learning/announcing-agents-to-payments-ap2-protocol), [American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/2026-the-most-powerful-women-in-finance-13-anna-marrs-american-express) |
| Cloudflare Web Bot Auth | Amex will use it in its agentic commerce program so merchants can identify trusted agents (Luke Gebb) | October 14, 2025 | [Cloudflare (Business Wire)](https://businesswire.com/news/home/20251014144421/en/Cloudflare-Collaborates-with-Leading-Payments-Companies-to-Secure-and-Enable-Agentic-Commerce) |
| Nacha panel on agentic standards | SVP Stefan Olofsson names Amex, Stripe, OpenAI, EMVCo and the FIDO Alliance among groups working on standards | April 28, 2026 | [Payments Dive](https://paymentsdive.com/news/amex-pushes-for-agentic-standards/818782) |
| x402 Foundation | Premier member at launch of the Linux Foundation body for internet-native agent payments | July 14, 2026 | [Linux Foundation (PR Newswire)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/linux-foundation-announces-operational-launch-of-x402-foundation-to-standardize-internet-native-payments-for-ai-agents-and-applications-302824778.html) |
| Merchant advisory council | Amex says it is convening merchants on agentic commerce, alongside a Teneo consumer survey | October 2026 | [Payments Dive](https://paymentsdive.com/news/amex-advises-businesses-on-ai/832423) |

## Why does American Express think its network suits agentic commerce, and what is unproven?

The argument is the closed loop. Squeri said on the Q2 2026 call that 'our closed-loop system provides a significant advantage in agentic commerce by offering better fraud protection and data insights', and that Amex knows both what the customer wanted and what the merchant delivered. Group president Anna Marrs put it as 'less about tech and more about trust'. ([PYMNTS](https://pymnts.com/credit-cards/2026/cards-make-their-case-in-an-agentic-world), [PYMNTS](https://pymnts.com/earnings/2026/american-express-turns-generation-z-loyalty-into-ai-advantage), [American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/2026-the-most-powerful-women-in-finance-13-anna-marrs-american-express))

The risks are on the record too. Packer asked in November 2025 how a customer knows an agent did what was expected, and the 2025 10-K says autonomous agents transacting for users could disintermediate Amex's customer relationships. ([Payments Dive](https://paymentsdive.com/news/how-agentic-ai-could-turbocharge-fraud-payments/804562), [American Express (SEC filings)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/4962/000000496226000080/axp-20251231.htm))

What is not disclosed: agentic transaction volumes, the number of registered agents or developers on ACE, claims paid under Agent Purchase Protection, or the platform partners behind the AI-assisted transactions Amex says it already completes. Squeri called the market 'the preseason' in July 2026. ([American Express via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202604140800BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260414_BW231355-1), [PYMNTS](https://pymnts.com/earnings/2026/american-express-turns-generation-z-loyalty-into-ai-advantage))

## What does the Amex profile record on this topic?

| Date | Move | Detail | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 13, 2026 | Intent Intelligence framework published | Amex releases its framework and Create Intent API for capturing and authenticating purchase intent before an agent transacts; Gebb and VP Hannah Bozian describe it as a way to reduce disputes. | [American Express via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202610130930BIZWIRE_USPRX____20261013_BW636634-1), [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/13/amex-introduces-a-framework-to-prevent-ai-agents-from-making-unauthorized-purchases) |
| Oct 8, 2026 | Agentic commerce playbook and merchant advisory council | Reported October 8 (released earlier that week): Amex releases a Teneo survey in which about two-thirds of US consumers use AI tools to compare prices and only 15% would let an agent make expensive purchases, and says it is convening a merchant advisory council. | [Payments Dive](https://paymentsdive.com/news/amex-advises-businesses-on-ai/832423) |
| Oct 1, 2026 | Marrs: agentic commerce is 'less about tech and more about trust' | Group President of Global Merchant and Network Services Anna Marrs tells American Banker that Amex supports the Agent Payments protocol (an open standard with Google, PayPal and 60-plus other companies) and that AI agents already automate parts of credit underwriting, fraud detection and personalised customer service. | [American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/2026-the-most-powerful-women-in-finance-13-anna-marrs-american-express) |
| Aug 25, 2026 | AI dispute pilot doubles instant resolutions | An AI pilot surfaces similar historical transactions to service reps; immediately resolved dispute cases more than doubled. | [Payments Dive](https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/amexs-low-fraud-rate-turns-on-its-closed-system/828716/) |
| Aug 7, 2026 | Amex GBT's Egencia connector in Claude | Agentic corporate travel through Anthropic's assistant. | [American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/payments/news/amex-gbt-adds-agentic-commerce-to-corporate-travel) |
| Jul 24, 2026 | Q2 call: closed loop and intent as the answer to agentic fraud | Squeri says agentic commerce is fraught with fraud and hallucinations and that knowing what the cardholder wanted and what the merchant delivered gives Amex an advantage; agentic initiatives were not in the year's original spending plan. | [Investing.com](https://investing.com/news/transcripts/earnings-call-transcript-american-express-beats-q2-2026-eps-shares-fall-93CH-4812024) |
| Jul 24, 2026 | Q2 10-Q lists agentic commerce among strategic dependencies | The filing ties results partly to the ACE kit, Agent Purchase Protection, making Membership assets discoverable on AI platforms and embedding AI into internal processes; it also cites AI usage costs. | [American Express (SEC filings)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/4962/000000496226000322/axp-20260630.htm) |
| Jul 21, 2026 | Intelligent buyer–supplier payment capabilities | With Bottomline's Paymode: embedded authentication and fraud controls. | [Business Wire via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/full?dockey=600-202607210900BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260721_BW220464-1) |
| Jul 14, 2026 | Premier member of the x402 Foundation | The Linux Foundation body standardising internet-native payments for AI agents launches with Amex among its premier members. | [Linux Foundation (PR Newswire)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/linux-foundation-announces-operational-launch-of-x402-foundation-to-standardize-internet-native-payments-for-ai-agents-and-applications-302824778.html) |
| Apr 28, 2026 | Amex executive on agentic standards at Nacha panel | SVP Stefan Olofsson names Amex, Stripe, OpenAI, EMVCo and the FIDO Alliance among the groups working on agentic standards and says the ecosystem needs interoperability. | [Payments Dive](https://paymentsdive.com/news/amex-pushes-for-agentic-standards/818782) |
| Apr 24, 2026 | Resy restaurants discoverable in Claude | Amex and Anthropic let Claude users browse Resy tables in conversation and hand off to Resy to book; the release is undated and coverage ran on April 26 and 27. | [American Express](https://americanexpress.com/en-us/newsroom/articles/travel-and-dining/american-express-partners-with-anthropic-to-make-u-s--resy-resta.html) |
| Apr 23, 2026 | Q1 call: 'data is king' in the agentic world | Squeri reports a 30% benefit for programmers, says the ACE kit requires an agent to declare intent so it can be matched with the purchase, and flags coming announcements with leading AI companies. | [The Motley Fool](https://fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2026/04/23/amex-axp-q1-2026-earnings-call-transcript) |

## Common questions

### What is the American Express ACE developer kit?

The Agentic Commerce Experiences (ACE) developer kit, launched April 14, 2026, gives select developers technical specifications and five services to bring Amex cards into AI-agent purchases: agent registration, account enablement, intent intelligence, tokenized payment credentials and cart context. Agent registration and cart context were marked as in development at launch.

### What is Amex Agent Purchase Protection?

Announced April 14, 2026 and described by Amex as an industry first, it is a commitment that if a Card Member authorizes a registered AI agent to buy something and the agent sends Amex the customer's authenticated purchase intent, Amex will protect eligible customers from charges related to the agent's error. Terms and conditions apply.

### Does American Express work with Cloudflare, Google or Visa on agent payments?

Amex is named in Google's Agent Payments Protocol group (September 2025) and said in October 2025 it would use Cloudflare's Web Bot Auth so merchants can identify trusted agents. It is a premier member of the x402 Foundation (July 2026). No joint agentic program with Visa or Mastercard is on the record.

### How does Amex's Intent Intelligence framework work?

Published October 13, 2026, it starts with a Create Intent API that records the customer's instructions and limits, such as merchant and maximum budget. The customer authenticates, an Intent ID and Proof of Intent Token are issued, and the token obtains a payment credential scoped to that intent. It ships through the ACE kit.

### How much agentic commerce does American Express process?

Amex has not disclosed agent transaction volumes, the number of registered agents or claims paid under Agent Purchase Protection. It says it already completes AI-assisted transactions with AI platform partners, and CEO Stephen Squeri said in July 2026 that agentic commerce was still 'the preseason'.
## Deeper on Amex

- [What is American Express's AI strategy and technology vision?](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/american-express/ai-strategy)
- [What AI patents, partnerships and investments does American Express have?](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/american-express/ai-research-patents-partnerships)
- [How does American Express use AI for fraud detection and credit decisions?](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/american-express/fraud-and-credit-ai)


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