Stripe introduces Link, a digital wallet that autonomous AI agents can use, too

Financial services platform Stripe is introducing a digital wallet specifically built for the AI era, where autonomous agents can perform tasks that include shopping, paying for reservations, buying tickets, and more. At its annual conference this week, the company introduced Link, a wallet that allows you to connect various payment methods, track your spending, and view your recurring subscriptions. It also lets you integrate your AI agents so they can spend on your behalf, securely. Link, which is available on the web, iOS, and Android, offers many things that you might expect from a digital wallet. You can connect payment methods, including cards, banks, crypto wallets, and buy now/pay later services, as well as store important details for online checkout like your billing and shipping information. The wallet offers other handy features, too, like the ability to see what you’re spending, and track your recurring subscriptions — even updating the payment method the services have on file, as needed. It also offers 90 days of protection on eligible purchases from select merchants. But what makes Link interesting is its ability to work with autonomous AI agents, like OpenClaw and others. Image Credits:Stripe The number of people experimenting with autonomous AI has been booming, to the point that Apple sold out of its base model Mac Minis, a popular platform for running these new, always-on AI agents. However, some people (rightly) take pause at the idea of giving an agent raw payment information, even if it’s providing convenience by automating various bookings. Link is meant to offer a solution, as users can connect their AI agents and give them permission to pay, without exposing their payment credentials. To work, users will first grant their agent access to the Link wallet via an OAuth (standard authentication) flow. The agent can then create a spend request, provide you with the context, and wait for your approval. Currently, it works with traditional payment methods, but Stripe says support for agentic tokens, stablecoins, and other types of payments is coming “soon.” Image Credits:Stripe On mobile and web, users will get a notification to approve the spend request, which requires they first review the transaction before the payment credential is shared with the AI agent. In the future, Stripe says it will expand its controls so users can set their own spending limits, or even choose when their agents can act without approval. The wallet has been built on Stripe’s new Issuing for agents, which lets users issue virtual cards for agents to use to make purchases autonomously, with real-time authorization, spending controls, and full transaction visibility. Instead of giving an agent access to your payment credentials, users can either give agents programmatic access to Link, which provides a one-time-use card, or they can use a Shared Payment Token (SPT), which is backed by payment cards and banks. Developers and businesses building agents or AI personal assistants can also use Link’s wallet instead of building their own wallet from scratch, Stripe notes.