American Express has introduced a framework that records and verifies what a customer actually approved before an AI agent completes a purchase. An API creates an intent with limits such as the merchant, a maximum budget and product preferences. That intent produces a token which gives the agent a temporary digital payment credential instead of the real card number. The tool is part of the Agentic Commerce Experiences toolkit Amex launched in April.

What it means: The core problem with purchases made by AI agents is not technical but one of trust: when software pays on someone's behalf, it must be possible to prove later exactly what the cardholder approved, at which shop, up to what amount and for which kind of product. The American Express approach records that intent before the purchase and hands the agent a temporary token instead of the real card number, so a leak or a mistake by the agent has limited consequences and the card does not need replacing. Standards like this will in practice decide who bears the loss when an agent buys the wrong thing, whether the customer, the merchant or the issuer, and they will shape how easily transaction disputes are resolved. Online shops should watch which methods their payment providers support, because those unable to accept such tokens may be left out of purchases that increasingly start with an agent.

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