# Agentic payments: 7 ways an AI agent can pay for an API

Agentic payments in 2026, ranked by setup steps: Stripe Link, x402, MPP, Slash, Ramp, AgentCard and Crossmint, and how each one would pay an API seller.

## Summary

Agentic payments are payments an AI agent starts for a person or a company, inside limits that person set. For an agent that calls APIs, there are seven real ways to pay in 2026: a card wallet, two open payment protocols, three card issuers and a stablecoin platform. This post ranks them by how many steps you take before the first payment.

Each entry says what the product is, who runs it, how the agent pays, its limits, and how it would pay looot, a prepaid data gateway, today. We read every vendor page on 2026-10-14. Most of these paths do not work with looot yet, and each entry says so in plain words.

Note: What looot accepts today: a prepaid balance. A person adds credit on a Stripe-hosted Checkout page, and the agent spends that balance call by call. The agent never enters card details: it shows the Checkout link to its human. That Checkout page is the one payment path we have tested. looot does not accept x402 or MPP yet, and we have not tested agent cards on Checkout. The full setup is on the docs page [Pay looot from your agent](https://docs.looot.ai/money/pay-from-your-agent).

## Agentic payments: the short answer

- **Stripe Link wallet for agents**, best for a person who already uses Link: the agent asks, you approve each payment in the Link app.
- **An x402 wallet**, best for pay per call with no account: the agent signs a stablecoin payment inside the HTTP request.
- **An MPP client**, best for sellers built on Stripe: the agent answers an HTTP 402 with a card token or stablecoins.
- **Slash agent cards**, best for a company already banking with Slash: the agent creates capped cards over MCP.
- **Ramp agent cards**, best for a finance team on Ramp: the agent buys inside the fund's limits and approval rules.
- **AgentCard**, best for one card per purchase with no business account: a one-time card number per purchase.
- **Crossmint**, best for a developer building payments into an agent product: card and stablecoin APIs behind a request for access.

| Way to pay | Who runs it | What the agent pays with | Setup steps before the first payment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Link wallet for agents | Stripe | One-time card or shared payment token | 3 |
| x402 wallet | Open standard, Coinbase runs a facilitator | Signed stablecoin transfer | 3 |
| MPP client | Open standard by Stripe and Tempo | Card token or stablecoins | 3 |
| Slash agent cards | Slash | Virtual or physical card | 3, after a Slash account |
| Ramp agent cards | Ramp | Agent Card, MPP or x402 | 3, after a Ramp account |
| AgentCard | Alchemy | One-time card number or a network path | 5 |
| Crossmint | Crossmint | Virtual card or stablecoin wallet | Not published |

## How we ranked these agentic payments options

We counted the steps each vendor's own page lists before an agent can make its first payment: accounts, installs, funding, approvals. Fewer steps rank higher. On a tie, a path that needs no business account ranks first. We did not rank on price, because most pages publish none, and we did not run any of these products for this post. We read each page on 2026-10-14 and link it in the entry.

## 1. Stripe Link wallet for agents, best for people who use Link

Stripe launched Link's wallet for agents on April 29, 2026, built on its new Issuing for agents ([Stripe blog](https://stripe.com/blog/giving-agents-the-ability-to-pay)). The agent connects to your Link wallet, sends a spend request with the merchant and the amount, and you approve it in the Link app. Link then hands the agent a one-time card or a shared payment token, never your real card number.

- **Setup:** connect the agent to Link, the agent sends a spend request, you approve it. Three steps.
- **Limits:** Stripe says "each request requires the person's review before the credential is shared with your agent". User-set spending limits are planned, not available yet.
- **Does not fit:** an agent that must pay with no person awake.

**How it would pay looot:** the one-time card pays our Checkout page as a card (untested). The shared payment token needs MPP, which looot does not accept yet.

## 2. An x402 wallet, best for pay per call with no account

x402 is an open standard that puts payment inside HTTP ([x402.org](https://www.x402.org)). The server answers 402 with its price, the agent signs a stablecoin payment and sends the request again, and a facilitator checks and settles it. x402.org says it needs "no accounts or personal information".

- **Setup:** a wallet the agent can sign with, stablecoins in it, an x402-aware HTTP client. Three steps.
- **Limits:** crypto only. The seller must speak x402. Coinbase's facilitator is free for the first 1,000 onchain transactions a month, then $0.001 each ([CDP docs](https://docs.cdp.coinbase.com/x402/core-concepts/facilitator), read 2026-10-14), a cost the seller pays.
- **Does not fit:** a team that cannot hold stablecoins.

**How it would pay looot:** it needs x402, which looot does not accept yet. Our [x402 explainer](https://looot.ai/blog/what-is-x402-http-402-payments-for-agents) covers the protocol.

## 3. An MPP client, best for sellers built on Stripe

The Machine Payments Protocol, launched by Stripe and Tempo on March 18, 2026, also uses HTTP 402 ([Stripe blog](https://stripe.com/blog/machine-payments-protocol)). It carries stablecoins and cards. The card side travels as a shared payment token, and Stripe settles the money into the seller's Stripe balance.

- **Setup:** a Link account, Stripe's `link-cli` to make one-time tokens, your approval. Three steps. A Tempo wallet is the stablecoin route.
- **Limits:** a card payment through a shared payment token is at least 0.50 USD ([Stripe MPP docs](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/machine/mpp), read 2026-10-14), so very small calls go over stablecoins. The seller must support MPP.
- **Does not fit:** a seller with no Stripe account.

**How it would pay looot:** it needs MPP, which looot does not accept yet. The [MPP explainer](https://looot.ai/blog/machine-payments-protocol-stripe-mpp-explained) shows what a seller builds.

## 4. Slash agent cards, best for companies that bank with Slash

Slash runs an MCP server that lets an agent "create cards, set spend controls, and send payments" ([Slash agents](https://www.slash.com/platform/agents)). The cards are virtual or physical. Slash says it is "available to all Slash users".

- **Setup:** a Slash account, an API key from Settings, the MCP server URL in your client. Three steps after the account.
- **Limits:** per-card or per-group caps, set per day, per month or for the card's lifetime. With a read-only key, a write returns 403 and an approval link for a person.
- **Does not fit:** a person without a business account.

**How it would pay looot:** a Slash card pays our Checkout page as a card (untested).

## 5. Ramp agent cards, best for finance teams on Ramp

Ramp's agent page offers three methods: an Agent Card "when the agent needs card credentials for a browser checkout", Stripe MPP, and x402 from a separately funded wallet ([Ramp agents](https://agents.ramp.com/cards)). The agent follows the fund's spend limit, merchant rules and approval policies.

- **Setup:** connect Ramp as yourself, give an agent role payment rights if it buys alone, use the matching purchase skill. Three steps after the Ramp account.
- **Limits:** "Standalone agent identities are in limited early access." The MPP skill is not published yet.
- **Does not fit:** anyone outside a Ramp customer company.

**How it would pay looot:** the Agent Card pays our Checkout page as a card (untested). Its MPP path needs MPP, which looot does not accept yet. Its x402 path needs x402, which looot does not accept yet.

## 6. AgentCard, best for one card per purchase

AgentCard at agentcard.ai is a CLI from Alchemy ([AgentCard skill page](https://agentcard.ai/skill)). It pays through Mastercard Agent Pay or Visa Intelligent Commerce when you connected such a card, and otherwise returns a one-time card number with no approval step. It is a different company from Agentcard at agentcard.sh, which sells agent wallets to platforms.

- **Setup:** install the CLI, sign up, run setup to save your own card, pass KYC, request a card. Five steps. Each one-time number is funded by a hold on your saved card and lives for 7 days.
- **Limits:** one-time numbers are capped at $150 during beta, with a $200 a day ceiling per direct account ([AgentCard skill page](https://agentcard.ai/skill), read 2026-10-14).
- **Does not fit:** a buyer who will not pass KYC.

**How it would pay looot:** the one-time number pays our Checkout page as a card (untested). Our [agent card guide](https://looot.ai/blog/agent-card-one-time-virtual-cards-for-ai-agents) covers the trade-offs.

## 7. Crossmint, best for developers building agent payments

Crossmint sells agentic payment APIs: virtual cards through Visa Intelligent Commerce and non-custodial stablecoin wallets, with "spending limits, whitelisting merchants, and requiring human approval above certain thresholds" ([Crossmint](https://www.crossmint.com/solutions/agentic-payments)).

- **Setup:** not published. The page starts with a request for access.
- **Limits:** a developer integration, not a ready wallet for one person. No price on the page.
- **Does not fit:** someone who wants to pay one API this week.

**How it would pay looot:** a Crossmint card pays our Checkout page as a card (untested). Its stablecoin wallet needs x402, which looot does not accept yet.

## How to choose an agentic payments method

### You are one person and want approval on every payment

Use the Link wallet. It asks you each time. AgentCard's one-time numbers skip approval, which suits small, known purchases.

### You want the agent to pay per call with no account

Use x402 or MPP, but only with sellers that accept them. Check the seller's docs first. Many data APIs, looot included, still sell credit up front.

### You run a company card program

Use the issuer you already bank with: Slash or Ramp. Their limits and approvals sit where your finance team already works.

### You build payments into your own agent product

Look at Crossmint, or at Stripe's Issuing for agents behind the Link wallet.

## What it cannot do

No path here makes an agent fully free of people today. Link asks per payment, Slash and Ramp need a company account, and AgentCard needs KYC. The protocols, x402 and MPP, only work where the seller accepts them. On looot, an agent still needs a person to pay the Checkout link once: it cannot top up alone. Card checkouts can also ask for 3D Secure, a bank prompt meant for the cardholder. AgentCard says its skill handles those prompts. The other pages we read do not say. Last checked 2026-10-14.

## Try it

The [skill file](https://looot.ai/skill.md) puts the minimum top-up at $5 for a new workspace.

For how a prepaid balance compares with other agent wallets, read [prepaid balance for AI agents](https://looot.ai/blog/mcp-server-with-one-prepaid-balance). For marketplaces that take x402, see [RapidAPI alternatives for AI agents](https://looot.ai/blog/rapidapi-alternatives-for-ai-agents).

## Questions

### What are agentic payments?

Agentic payments are payments an AI agent starts for a person or company, inside limits they set. The agent asks for a credential, such as a one-time card or a token, or signs a stablecoin payment, and the seller is paid without the person typing a card number.

### Can an AI agent pay for an API by itself?

Only where the seller accepts a protocol such as x402 or MPP, or where a card issuer lets the agent spend without asking. Many data APIs still sell prepaid credit, so a person pays once and the agent spends the balance.

### Does looot accept x402 or MPP?

Not yet. looot sells a prepaid balance paid on a Stripe Checkout page. The agent shows the link to its human and never enters card details.

### Can an agent card pay looot's Checkout page?

We expect a one-time card from Link, Slash, Ramp, AgentCard or Crossmint to work there as a normal card, but we have not tested it. The docs page on paying from your agent will say when we have.

### What is the difference between x402 and MPP?

Both use HTTP 402 to ask for payment. x402 moves stablecoins and needs no account. MPP, from Stripe and Tempo, also carries cards as shared payment tokens and settles in the seller's Stripe balance.

### Are AgentCard and Agentcard the same company?

No. AgentCard at agentcard.ai is Alchemy's CLI for one-time cards. Agentcard at agentcard.sh issues Rain cards and stores cards for platforms. Check the domain before you sign up.

### Do I need crypto for agentic payments?

No. Link, Slash, Ramp and AgentCard's one-time numbers are card payments. x402 is crypto only, and MPP can be either.

### Which method needs the fewest steps?

Link's wallet for agents, x402 and an MPP client each take three steps on their own pages. Link needs no business account and no stablecoins, so it ranks first here.

## For agents

### Run a lookup on a prepaid balance

```text
Use looot to find the company behind the domain stripe.com. First set up https://looot.ai/skill.md. Before the paid run, call balance. If the balance is below the run's estimated cost, call top_up and show me the Checkout link. Do not try to pay it yourself.
```