Stripe is using its relationships with payments companies Affirm and Klarna to expand its entry into the agentic commerce space.
Affirm and Klarna both said they’re using Stripe’s Shared Payment Tokens (SPTs), which help to receive a customer’s payment method from an artificial intelligence (AI) agent. Then, an AI agent grants SPTs to a seller’s account with usage and expiration limits.
Stripe visualizes the different layers and required actions to facilitate agentic commerce using its Shared Payment Tokens (SPTs). | Image credit: Stripe Docs
What are Shared Payment Tokens?
Stripe said it built the SPT in late 2025 to “let agents initiate payments using a buyer’s permission and preferred payment method, without exposing credentials.”
It also said it designed the tokens to meet five key requirements for agentic commerce:
- Programmable by design. Stripe said sellers can limit tokens by time or amount. They could also revoke tokens at any time and monitor the tokens via webhook events.
- Reusable and convenient. Buyers can use their existing saved payment methods without having to re-enter details. They could also add new payment methods.
- Secure and interoperable. Stripe said the tokens do not expose underlying credentials. It said it designed SPTs to be “generally compatible” with card networks’ agentic tokens.
- Protective against fraud. Stripe said it uses Stripe Radar to power SPTs on its platform. It said it can relay the underlying risk signals using transaction and payment method details that help differentiate between high-intent agents and low-trust automated bots. Those details can include the likelihood of a fraudulent dispute, card testing, a stolen card, a card issuer decline and other signals.
- Easy to integrate. SPTs work directly with Stripe PaymentIntents. Stripe said that makes integration simple for developers already using its technology.
“Agentic commerce challenges many of the assumptions today’s permissioning and fraud systems rely on,” wrote Kevin Miller, head of payments at Stripe, in an October 2025 blog post. “In traditional commerce, possession of a credential (such as a card) is treated as a trust signal. But because AI agents act on behalf of users, trust can’t be inferred — it has to be explicitly granted, scoped, and enforced in code.”
How Affirm is using Stripe for agentic commerce
Affirm said it’s expanding its partnership with Stripe to support SPTs. The collaboration will bring Affirm’s buy now, pay later (BNPL) options to checkout in AI-driven commerce experiences, according to Affirm. In doing so, shoppers will be able to see the total cost upfront and select a “clear repayment plan” when an AI agent is helping with browsing and buying, Affirm said.
At the same time, Affirm said, merchants will be able to accept those payments on the back end through Stripe.
“Commerce is evolving quickly in this golden age of AI, though the value and standard for paying over time remain durable and even more relevant,” said Vishal Kapoor, senior vice president of product at Affirm, in a statement. “As AI agents help people make better purchasing decisions, consumers will want to see the total cost upfront, choose a clear repayment plan, and know that there are no hidden fees.”
Affirm said it ties each of its payment plans to specific purchases “rather than a revolving balance.”
“With our Shared Payment Tokens expanding to include Affirm, AI agents will be able to present buy now, pay later options at checkout,” Miller said in a statement announcing the expansion with Affirm. “Integrating Affirm into agentic payments helps businesses drive conversion while giving shoppers more choice in how they pay.”
Through the Stripe-powered capability, shoppers will be able to select Affirm as their payment method on AI platforms that use SPTs. Affirm said that after consumers complete its real-time eligibility check and choose their payment plan, they will be able to complete their purchases directly within AI platforms.
How Klarna is using Stripe for agentic commerce
Klarna announced its payment option will soon apply at checkout in AI agent-driven shopping experiences using Stripe’s SPTs. That would make Klarna available in AI-powered checkout flows for U.S. merchants that already use Klarna through Stripe.
It becomes another way for AI shopping agents to offer BNPL at checkout.
Klarna framed the integration as addressing “a growing gap in agentic commerce: AI shopping agents have been defaulting to card-on-file payments by design, effectively freezing out alternative payment methods, including BNPL, from automated checkout flows which leaves consumers with less choice.”
It also noted that merchants already offering Klarna through Stripe will not need any additional integrations.
“The infrastructure being built for agentic commerce will define online checkout for the next decade,” said David Sykes, chief commercial officer at Klarna, in a statement. “As AI agents begin purchasing on consumers’ behalf, it’s critical that flexible payment options remain available.”
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