Mastercard announced today that, in cooperation with OTP Bank, the first live, authenticated payment executed by an AI agent has taken place in Hungary. The live transaction used the card network’s Agent Pay technology, which enables AI agents to carry out purchases on behalf of consumers.
What happened in the transaction?
In the demonstrated use case, an AI agent recommended, reserved and paid a deposit for a coffee tasting on behalf of a customer who held an OTP Bank‑issued Mastercard. The AI agent completed the purchase by connecting to the online merchant’s platform.
Security measures and consumer consent
According to the announcement, agentic tokens were used during the purchase; these tokens protect sensitive data and support strong customer authentication throughout the process. Mastercard also stated that consumer consent was clearly recorded and that the purchase confirmation used Mastercard Payment Passkeys, which provide strong customer authentication including biometric identification.
Executive comments
Márkus Gergely, Country Manager for Mastercard in Hungary and Slovenia, said: “Amit néhány hónappal ezelőtt még távoli trendként emlegettünk, az ma már valóság Magyarországon is. Az AI hatalmas lehetőséget kínál a mindennapi feladatok egyszerűsítésére.”
Becsei András, Deputy CEO of OTP Bank’s Retail Division, added: “Ahogy a tranzakciók egyre „önállóbbá válnak”, elengedhetetlenek az erős védelmi mechanizmusok. Természetesen ezeknél a tranzakcióknál sem hagyható el az ügyfél‑felhatalmazás és fontos az átláthatóság is.”
Why this matters
The announcement demonstrates how AI agents can execute purchases for consumers while relying on layered protections provided by the card network and the bank — agentic tokens to shield sensitive data and Payment Passkeys for biometric strong authentication. Mastercard presents these mechanisms as key enablers for scaling AI‑driven payments in a way that meets regulatory and consumer‑protection expectations.
