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- Fetch.ai has launched the world’s first payment system, allowing AI agents to complete autonomous payments.
- CEO Humayun Sheikh says the new system ushers in the era of “an agent-first economy.”
AI agents are taking over, with Microsoft estimating that over 1.3 billion will be deployed within the next three years. While they have become extremely efficient at processing information and repetitive, rules-based tasks, they have yet to make payments on behalf of their users, limiting their applications. Fetch.ai seeks to redefine the sector with the launch of the first payments system that enables autonomous AI agent-to-agent transactions.
The AI-focused blockchain network says the system will be built on ASI:One, its agentic AI platform that allows users to deploy personal agents. American payments giant Visa will facilitate the payments, which will be settled in USDC and the network’s native token, FET.
In a demonstration, an offline AI agent on Fetch.ai’s platform coordinated with another agent to secure a reservation via OpenTable and made the payment, marking the first instance of an agent executing real-world payments on behalf of its user.
Fetch.ai CEO Humayun Sheikh commented:
“By enabling AIs to transact on our behalf, we’re creating a new era where intelligent agents execute, secure, and deliver real-world value without waiting for us to intervene. This fundamentally changes the way we interact with the world: AI can now act in real time, turning opportunities into experiences, purchases, and commitments, all while keeping users in control.”
By gaining access to payments, AI agents can now act autonomously on behalf of humans. Your agent could book a flight at the cheapest available rates, pay for a hotel close to the airport, and request and pay for an Uber to ship you there, all within a preset budget. It could renew, cancel, and even negotiate subscriptions, issue invoices and receive payments, book household repairs and pay the technicians, and so forth.
Fetch.ai Introduces an Agent-First Economy
Fetch.ai has been working on the system for five years now, Sheikh revealed, adding that this payments layer is “the gateway to an AI agent-first economy.”
While the network could have built all the payment rails from the ground up, it has partnered with industry heavyweights for maximum reach. Visa is handling the payments, with Fetch.ai’s proprietary software providing KYC and security. Sheikh expects Mastercard to join the network in the first few months of 2026.
The biggest risk would be the AI agent taking control of its users’ bank or mobile money accounts. To mitigate this, users will need to set up dedicated AI wallets with a defined budget and predetermined spending limits. Visa’s temporary credentials guarantee that sensitive information is never stored permanently, while users can set up transaction confirmation requirements for extra oversight.
It summarized:
“For consumers, it means more seamless experiences, fewer missed opportunities, and smarter, real-time interactions with the world around them. For businesses, it opens new avenues for engagement, commerce, and service delivery, as autonomous agents can transact on behalf of users with speed and precision.”
FET trades at $0.2091, gaining 3.3% in the past day after a steep decline toward the end of the year, where it shed a third of its value in a month.
