Purchase API by Agentcard

Product Introduction

1. Definition: Agentcard's Purchase API is a specialized financial technology (FinTech) API that enables AI agents and automated software to autonomously complete e-commerce transactions. It functions as a secure payment orchestration layer, integrating card issuance, checkout automation, and payment processing into a single API call.
2. Core Value Proposition: It exists to solve the "last-mile" problem in agentic AI: enabling autonomous agents to execute real-world purchases. The core value is providing a secure, agent-safe payment method that allows AI assistants to search, add to cart, and pay for goods and services from merchants like DoorDash and Amazon without human intervention, using a single-use virtual card for each transaction.

Main Features

1. The Agentcard Wallet Widget: A plug-and-play, embeddable UI component (likely a JavaScript SDK or iFrame) that developers integrate into their applications. It provides a secure interface for end-users to either link their existing credit/debit cards or issue new Agentcards. How it works: Card details are tokenized and stored in a PCI DSS-compliant vault; the application and AI agent only ever receive a secure, limited-use token for a specific transaction, never the actual Primary Account Number (PAN).
2. Dual Card Modes (Connect & Issue):
   • Connect: Allows users to securely share their existing credit/debit cards. The agent uses a tokenized, single-use proxy of the user's card. The user retains all original card rewards and points.
   • Issue: Allows the platform to issue new, branded virtual Visa cards to users. These can be single-use (for one purchase) or multi-use with merchant and spending limits (e.g., for subscriptions). The issuing platform earns 1% interchange on all settled volume and can add a custom markup.
3. Purchase API & Browser Automation Support: Provides two technical paths for agents to complete purchases:
   • Purchase API: A high-level API where the agent sends a natural language request (e.g., POST /v2/purchases { "ask": "2 spicy tuna rolls to the office" }). Agentcard's backend handles product search, cart building, and checkout using its pre-built integrations with merchants like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Shopify.
   • Browser Automation Support: Provides secure card details (number, expiry, CVC) directly to a developer's own browser automation scripts (e.g., using Puppeteer, Playwright, or Browserbase). This allows agents to pay on any online checkout form, not just pre-integrated merchants.

Problems Solved

1. Pain Point: AI agents and automation scripts cannot natively hold or use payment instruments. Manually completing checkouts for users negates the promise of autonomy. Existing solutions like generic virtual card APIs lack the security context for AI use and require complex, bespoke integration with compliance, KYC, and ledger systems.
2. Target Audience: Primarily developers and product teams building iMessage/WhatsApp AI assistants, agentic workflow platforms, autonomous browser automation tools, and AI hosting services (e.g., OpenClaw, Hermes). Secondary users are companies needing secure, scoped spending solutions for internal automation.
3. Use Cases:
   • An iMessage AI assistant ordering dinner from DoorDash based on a user's text request.
   • A personal AI agent booking a flight and hotel after researching options.
   • An automated business tool purchasing software subscriptions or office supplies within pre-approved limits.
   • A platform issuing controlled spending cards to its users' AI agents for discretionary use.

Unique Advantages

1. Differentiation: Unlike traditional Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platforms that provide raw card-issuing rails and leave compliance, UI, and merchant integration to the developer, Agentcard is a full-stack, agent-first payment platform. It bundles the regulated program, secure wallet UI, compliance (KYC/AML), fraud handling, and purchase automation into one flat-fee product, contrasting with enterprise contracts and per-order metered APIs.
2. Key Innovation: The "agent-safe by design" security model. Each payment uses a card number locked to a specific merchant and amount. If compromised, it is financially inert. This provides scoped spending power—a critical guardrail for autonomous systems—without exposing users' primary cards or requiring complex permissioning logic to be built by the developer.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. How does Agentcard prevent AI agents from making fraudulent or erroneous purchases? Agentcard enforces security through transaction scoping. Each virtual card is generated for a single, pre-approved amount and merchant. Even if the card details are intercepted or misused by a faulty agent, they cannot be used for any other transaction, rendering them useless for fraud.

2. What is the difference between connecting a user's card and issuing a new Agentcard? Connecting a card allows the agent to spend from the user's existing credit/debit card, with the user keeping their original rewards. Issuing a new Agentcard creates a fresh Visa card; the platform funds it (via company balance or user load) and earns 1% interchange plus any set markup on each purchase.

3. Which online stores and merchants work with the Agentcard Purchase API? The Purchase API currently has direct integrations for checkout automation with DoorDash, Amazon, Good Eggs, and most Shopify and Stripe-powered stores, with more added monthly. Alternatively, the browser automation method allows agents to pay on any website with a standard checkout form that accepts Visa.

4. Is Agentcard compliant with PCI DSS and financial regulations? Yes. Agentcard, with its licensed banking partners, holds the regulatory responsibility and is pursuing PCI DSS SAQ D and SOC 2 Type I certifications. The platform handles KYC, fraud monitoring, and dispute management, removing this burden from the integrating developer.

5. What are the technical requirements to integrate the Agentcard API? Integration primarily involves adding the Agentcard Wallet widget via OAuth for user onboarding and implementing webhooks to listen for payment events. Agentcard provides a setup wizard (npx agent-cards companies wizard) to accelerate integration, with most teams reaching the sandbox environment on the same day.