Mastercard jumps into AI-powered card payments! Helping DBS Taiwan complete its first AI proxy payment and integrate Lobster.cash

Mastercard partners with DBS Taiwan to complete the first AI proxy payment, integrating the Lobster.cash platform to ensure transaction security. At the same time, Visa has also launched a dedicated tool, and the two giants are officially competing in the AI proxy payment market.

Mastercard partners with DBS Taiwan and Lobster.cash

AI proxy payments have now entered Taiwan! International payment giant Mastercard recently partnered with DBS Bank Taiwan to complete the first identity-verified proxy AI transaction, assisting consumers in matching airport transfer services. After selecting a plan and authorizing, consumers complete reservations and payments using their linked Mastercard.

Mastercard Taiwan General Manager Chen Yi-wen stated that this symbolizes that proxy AI has practically integrated into consumers’ daily payment experiences, and consumers still retain control over the transaction process.

Mastercard is not stopping its expansion. Yesterday (4/16), it further announced a collaboration with Crossmint, a crypto payment infrastructure company, and its AI proxy payment platform Lobster.cash, to integrate Mastercard Agent Pay with the Verifiable Intent framework into an open-source AI proxy platform.

Crossmint co-founder Alfonso Gómez-Jordana Mañas pointed out that after integration, users do not need to apply for new wallets or new cards; existing cards can serve AI proxies; Mastercard Digital Officer Pablo Fourez also noted that this extends Mastercard’s trusted payment network to open proxy platforms, enabling developers to innovate securely while safeguarding consumer safety and control.

Image source: Lobster.cash official website Lobster.cash is an AI proxy payment solution provider

What is Mastercard Agent Pay?

Mastercard launched the Mastercard Agent Pay program in April 2025. This technology is specifically designed for proxy AI-initiated payment transactions, providing a safer payment experience for consumers, merchants, and card issuers.

Mastercard Agent Pay incorporates Mastercard’s Smart Proxy Code technology, requiring all trusted AI proxies to be registered and verified. The system issues a unique code for each proxy AI to ensure its identity can be recognized, and consumers can fully control the proxy’s purchasing rights, setting clear spending conditions and limits.

Additionally, Mastercard combines the Verifiable Intent framework developed jointly with Google to generate tamper-proof encrypted authorization records, ensuring that every AI-initiated transaction aligns with the user’s explicit intent and maintaining the issuer’s regulatory oversight.

Visa also has its layout, and the two giants are competing in the AI proxy payment market

While Mastercard actively expands its footprint, another payment giant, Visa, is also making moves.

According to previous reports by Crypto City, Visa recently launched an experimental product called “Visa CLI,” a command-line interface designed specifically for AI proxies, allowing software agents to initiate payments directly from the terminal environment, bypassing the traditional graphical interface requiring human manual authorization. This enables developers to implement programmatic card payments through text commands, reducing the security risks and operational burdens of managing API keys.

Visa is also actively involved in setting standards for AI proxies. Its CLI tool, in conjunction with Coinbase’s x402 protocol, is complementary, and its previously launched Trusted Agent Protocol has gained support from industry partners such as Adyen, Coinbase, Microsoft, and Shopify.

• Related article: Visa Trusted Agent Protocol: Using Encrypted Signing Keys to Prevent Malicious AI Proxies

As Visa and Mastercard respectively integrate standards and security frameworks for proxies, the AI-driven machine-to-machine commerce competition has officially begun.