Tokenization paves the way for AI agents to pay for us

" Tokenization is not just a security technology, but is becoming a strategic infrastructure that will enable an entire future payments ecosystem," explained Luca Corti, Country Manager of Mastercard Italy, during a meeting in Venice. This technology replaces sensitive card data with unique, dynamic credentials (tokens), making digital transactions secure , seamless, and virtually invisible to the user. In Italy, 30% of Mastercard transactions already use tokenization, with the goal of reaching 100% by 2030.

But the transformation doesn't stop there. Tokenization is evolving to support autonomous and AI-powered payment scenarios , including so-called agentic payments . This is a new frontier where intelligent virtual assistants, or "agents," can make purchases on behalf of users securely and reliably, thanks to cutting-edge technology and security standards.

Mastercard is promoting this innovation by collaborating with major players like Google and Stripe, and recently launched the Agent Pay program, which will allow cardholders to delegate payments to AI agents in a simple and transparent way. This program will be available starting this Christmas for Americans, and will soon be available for everyone else, including Italy. "We're building the infrastructure for a new generation of intelligent transactions, where consumers and developers can empower AI agents with trust and precision," adds Corti.

After all, the security of the entire supply chain is Mastercard's core business: "We are hyper-attacked by nature," Corti continues. "And for this reason, we have always had extensive expertise, which has allowed us to successfully respond to all attacks, which number over 200 per minute. Over time, we've realized that it's in our best interest to secure the entire ecosystem, and that's why we provide our solutions to customers, be they banks, retailers, or governments."

This development is part of Mastercard's broader commitment to digital security, which includes billions in investments in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence technologies to prevent fraud and attacks, protecting more than 150 billion transactions globally each year.