06 · By an AI agent

Payments your AI agent can initiate.

AIPS is an open protocol for AI agents to pay merchants on behalf of a user. Signed mandates, AP2-compatible, scheme-agnostic. The merchant accepts an agent the same way they accept a person.

ProtocolAIPS (open) · AP2-compatible
AgentsClaude · ChatGPT · custom MCP
MandatesCryptographically signed, scoped
StatusIn rollout · early-access merchants

An agent is just another acceptance surface.

The next checkout is not on a screen. It's an AI agent acting on behalf of a user — "book me a hotel", "order groceries", "renew my insurance" — and reaching for a payment rail to close the loop.

AIPS (Agentic Instant Payments Specification) is our open protocol for that pattern. The merchant accepts the agent the same way they accept a buyer in a chat or on a checkout page. The agent presents a signed mandate from its user — scoped to a merchant, an amount, and a window — and miaPOS verifies, routes the payment, and returns the receipt.

Two important design choices. Open protocol — AIPS is not a payment scheme; it's the layer between the agent and whatever rail the merchant runs on. AP2-compatible — Google's Agent Payments Protocol works as a mandate format inside AIPS, so a Claude agent or a ChatGPT agent or a custom MCP-based agent can all transact with the same merchant integration.

How it works.

From the cashier's tap to the merchant's bank account.

1
User issues a mandate
In their AI agent (Claude, ChatGPT, custom), the user grants the agent permission to pay — scoped to merchant, amount cap, expiry. Signed cryptographically.
2
Agent finds a merchant
Via MCP, the agent discovers the merchant's AIPS endpoint and intent capabilities.
3
Agent presents the mandate
The agent submits the signed mandate + payment intent to the merchant's AIPS endpoint.
4
Merchant verifies + routes
miaPOS validates the mandate signature, scope, and freshness. Routes the payment via the same instant rail as any other acceptance.
5
Settlement + receipt
Funds settle in seconds. Receipt returned to the agent, surfaced back to the user in the agent's UI.

For merchants who want to be in the agent's consideration set.

Agentic acceptance is early, but the merchants who plug in first own the category.

Travel & hospitality

Hotels, restaurants, tours. Agents book and pay in one call.

Subscriptions & renewals

Insurance, utilities, memberships. The agent handles the recurring lift.

Marketplaces

Agents shop on behalf of users — your store is in the inventory.

Services

Bookings, appointments, consultations. The agent confirms and pays.

B2B procurement

Internal agents buying tools, software, supplies — within a corporate budget mandate.

Long-tail commerce

Any merchant who wants their checkout to be agent-readable, not just human-readable.

What's in the box.

Built so the merchant can self-serve and the buyer doesn't have to install anything.

For the merchant

  • One AIPS endpoint, accepts mandates from any compliant agent
  • No per-agent integration work
  • Same settlement rail, same Portal, same reporting
  • Mandate scope verification handled for you
  • Audit trail of every agent-initiated payment

For the user / agent

  • AP2-compatible mandates, sign once per scope
  • Per-merchant, per-amount, per-window controls
  • Revocable at any time from the user's side
  • Standard MCP discovery — no per-merchant SDK
  • Receipt surfaced back in the agent's UI

"The next acceptance surface isn't a screen. It's a mandate."

Try it, or build with it.

If you sell — start with the User Guide. If you build — go straight to the integration docs.