AgentCard

What is AgentCard?

AgentCard provides single-use virtual Visa debit cards for AI agents. It lets agents pay for purchases on the web by creating scoped card instances when a payment is needed, without requiring a traditional wallet or prefunding workflow.

The core purpose is to help developers and companies add controlled “agent spending” to their applications. Cards are designed to be isolated per transaction and to support human review before card creation and payments are completed.

Key Features

• One-time-use virtual Visa cards: Each card can be used only one time, helping keep transactions isolated and traceable.
• Self-destructing cards (7-day lifetime): Unused cards automatically self-destruct after 7 days to reduce the risk of forgotten credentials and lingering holds.
• Human-in-the-loop approvals: Human approval is required for card creations and payments; users receive a notification/email before the agent can complete a transaction.
• Scoped card lifecycle and controls: Cards are described as “scoped, approved, and self-destructing by default,” supporting tighter operational control around agent spending.
• No prefunding; automatic hold release: Instead of charging in advance, AgentCard places a hold on a bank card and charges only when the card is used; unused holds are released automatically.
• Chrome extension for checkout payments: The site describes a Chrome extension to let agents pay on checkout pages.
• Developer CLI and admin tooling: A CLI workflow is provided (e.g., agent-cards and agent-cards-admin) for creating cards and managing organizations.
• API with webhooks (companies): Companies can use an API to create cards on behalf of users and monitor activity via a dashboard or webhooks.

How to Use AgentCard

1. Get started with the CLI: Install the CLI package (the site shows npm install -g agent-cards) and run signup to begin creating cards.
2. Create cards on demand: Use the command-line flow described on the page to issue one-time virtual cards when the agent needs to pay.
3. Enable the browser path (optional): Use the Chrome extension to support paying on checkout pages.
4. For companies integrating via API: Register an organization using agent-cards-admin, create cardholder identities per user, then allow user agents to create scoped single-use cards using your configured limits.
5. Operate approvals and monitoring: Use the dashboard/webhooks to monitor card and transaction activity, with human-in-the-loop approvals before completion.

Use Cases

• Agent-led purchases during web checkouts: An AI agent creates a single-use virtual card and proceeds to payment on checkout pages with the help of the provided browser extension workflow.
• Developer-controlled spend for agent workflows: Teams integrate card creation so agents can spend within defined limits while humans approve each card creation/payment before completion.
• Multi-user SaaS spend management: Applications create separate cardholder identities for each user to keep card issuance isolated across customers while still centralizing oversight.
• API-driven payments without building card infrastructure: Companies use the AgentCard API to let agents pay on behalf of users, while monitoring holds, transactions, and outcomes through a dashboard or webhooks.
• Reducing orphaned holds and stale payment methods: Single-use cards with a 7-day self-destruct window and automatic hold release for unused cards help avoid forgotten card instances.

FAQ

• Do I need to prefund cards? No prefunding is described. AgentCard places a hold on a bank card and charges only when a created card is used; unused holds are released automatically.

• Are the virtual cards reusable? No. The page states cards are one-time-use, meaning each card can be used only once.

• How do approvals work? The product is described as using human-in-the-loop approvals for both card creation and payments. Notifications are sent before an agent can complete a transaction.

• How long do unused cards last? The page states that unused cards self-destruct after 7 days and that you receive your amount back.

• Can companies integrate AgentCard programmatically? Yes. The page describes an API, an admin CLI (agent-cards-admin), organization setup, cardholder creation per user, and monitoring via dashboard and webhooks.

Alternatives

• Traditional virtual card platforms: Alternatives in the same category typically provide reusable or managed virtual cards. Compared with AgentCard, workflows may differ in how easily they support one-time, agent-driven spending and human approvals per transaction.
• Payment gateways with stored payment methods: Some gateways let you manage payment methods and handle charges initiated by your backend. These may require different engineering to achieve single-use, isolated card behavior.
• Manual approval + invoice/billing workflows: For teams that prefer non-card payment rails, a workflow using invoices or manual payments can avoid card issuance entirely, but it won’t support the same agent-to-checkout payment pattern.
• Generic agent payment orchestration (custom-built): You can build custom “agent spending” systems around your own payment rails. The key difference is you would be responsible for card/checkout handling and controls that AgentCard provides out of the box.