Cards Make Their Case in an Agentic World

When AI agents start buying things, somebody has to settle the transaction. This week, the four largest card networks in the United States each made the same declaration: The Prompt Economy is their market, and they are building the rails for it. Mastercard Says Cards Will Prevail in an Agentic World In the Mastercard’s Q2 2026 earnings review , CFO Sachin Mehra said that the company is extending its trusted infrastructure to support a new era of AI-powered commerce, scaling Agent Pay through li