Proof and Circle will show at Money20/20 how two open protocols can work together so businesses can trust purchases made by AI agents. In the demo, an agent presents a verified credential over the x401 identity protocol and pays in USDC over x402 from a Circle Agent Wallet. x401 builds on the HTTP 401 response and x402 on the HTTP 402 response. The merchant checks the credential's signature before the order completes.
What it means: As AI agents start buying on behalf of users, merchants face a double question: who is behind the agent, and how will they be paid safely. Many websites today block automated programs precisely because they cannot tell a legitimate agent from a fraud bot. Proof and Circle propose using codes that already exist in the web's protocol, so a site can ask for identity and payment in a standard way. If such standards catch on, they could reduce the need for bespoke deals with every merchant. This is a demonstration, not a widely deployed solution, and competition from protocols backed by the big card networks is intense. In Europe, identification would need to link to the EU Digital Identity Wallet and payment to strong customer authentication rules. For Greek online shops, the practical question will be when to accept purchases from agents and with what guarantees. Bot policies will soon need to become far more detailed.
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