Lobster.cash partners with Mastercard for AI agent payments

Crossmint’s Lobster.cash will integrate Mastercard Agent Pay and the Verifiable Intent framework so AI agents in the Openclaw ecosystem can charge purchases to users’ existing Mastercard accounts. Crossmint said it will open an early access program before broader availability.

Under the integration, agent-initiated transactions will be routed through Mastercard’s network and processed under issuer controls. Card issuers will retain visibility into what agents buy, how much is charged and the conditions for each transaction. Crossmint says agents will not receive raw card credentials.

Lobster.cash uses Basis Theory as a credential layer to keep sensitive payment data off agent infrastructure. The platform is built on Solana and uses stablecoins alongside traditional card rails. Crossmint lists partners including Circle, Visa, Basis Theory and Stytch.

The Verifiable Intent framework, developed with Google, creates cryptographic records tying each agent transaction to a user’s authorization. Those records are designed to let issuers, merchants and platforms independently verify that an agent acted with user approval. The framework aligns with the Agent Payments Protocol and the Universal Commerce Protocol to operate across multiple agent platforms.

Openclaw, the initial target for the integration, is an open-source project that has deployed more than one million agents across over 20 messaging platforms. Crossmint intends to offer the Mastercard integration first to Openclaw users and then expand Agent Pay support to other agent platforms. A waitlist is available at lobster.cash.

Crossmint co-founder Alfonso Gomez-Jordana Manas said, “They can put the card they already have to work for their agent, with the security and control they expect from Mastercard.” Mastercard Chief Digital Officer Pablo Fourez added the partnership extends Mastercard’s payments network and infrastructure to open agent platforms while maintaining security and issuer controls.

Crossmint is backed by Ribbit Capital and Franklin Templeton and serves more than 40,000 clients. Mastercard Agent Pay is already deployed by banks including Santander, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, DBS and UOB. The companies say the integration places transaction accountability on the card network and issuers rather than solely on agent developers.