What are ACP, UCP, and the card-network programs?
These are the protocols and network programs behind the tracker. Each page answers what it is, who backs it, which players name it, and what the recent news says.
Sardine KYH is an early protocol on this list. It passes shopper identifiers to a merchant. It is not a checkout standard, and Sardine is seeking design partners.
What is ACP? How AI agents use it to pay
LiveACP is a shared checkout language. An AI agent can pass an order to a business, and the business still owns the sale.
Dated
What is AP2? How AI agents use it to pay
PilotAP2 is a way to prove that a person allowed an agent to pay, and to keep a record of what was approved.
Dated
What is UCP? How AI agents use it to pay
LiveUCP is a shared shopping language so an agent and a store can discover products, build a cart, pay, and follow the order afterward.
Dated
What is x402? How AI agents use it to pay
Livex402 lets an agent pay for a web request on the spot, usually with a stablecoin, without opening a new account for that site.
Dated
What is Visa Intelligent Commerce? How AI agents use it to pay
PilotVisa Intelligent Commerce is Visa's program for agent payments: tokenized credentials, spending limits, and a pilot on-ramp called Intelligent Commerce Connect.
Dated
What is Mastercard Agent Pay? How AI agents use it to pay
LiveAgent Pay is Mastercard's program for agent payments, built on tokenization so a registered agent can pay and the cardholder stays in control.
Dated
What is KYH? How AI agents use it to pay
PilotKnow Your Human (KYH) is Sardine's protocol for passing a shopper's device and network identifiers to a merchant when an AI agent checks out, so the merchant can tell that person from a bot.
Dated