Payment Mandate

payment mandate · intent mandate · cart mandate · signed mandate · agent payment mandate · mandate ap2

Definition

A payment mandate is cryptographically signed proof of user consent in the AP2 protocol; the Intent Mandate sets intention and limits, the Cart Mandate fixes the specific basket and price.

Why payment mandates exist

In classic e-commerce the user authorises the payment personally, by pressing Pay. In agentic
commerce the purchase can be initiated by an AI agent: the user said once “buy me trainers under
$90”, and the agent then acts on its own.

That raises a question. How do the merchant and the payment system establish that the purchase was
sanctioned? And how are the agent’s actions kept inside the boundaries the user set?

AP2, Google’s protocol, answers with payment mandates: cryptographically signed structures that
record the user’s permission.

The two types of mandate

Intent Mandate — the mandate of intention. It records the original permission and its
parameters:

What is allowed (product category, type of action)
The limits (budget, brands, conditions)
The time window it stays valid

Cart Mandate — the mandate of the basket. It records one concrete transaction before payment:

The list of items, SKUs and quantities
The final price
The delivery terms

The two-stage structure lets the agent act autonomously inside the intention while still requiring a
final confirmation before every payment.

Cryptographic protection

User      -> signs an Intent Mandate with their key
Agent     -> acts inside the Intent Mandate
Agent     -> builds a Cart Mandate -> the user signs it
Merchant  -> verifies the signatures -> processes the payment

Neither the agent nor the merchant can change the contents of a signed mandate. If the agent tries
to push through a transaction that falls outside the Intent Mandate, the payment system rejects it.

Important: payment mandates are specific to Google’s AP2 protocol (2025). Other protocols —
ACP, UCP — solve the same authorisation problem differently, and the standard is still taking
shape.

Frequently asked questions

Why is a payment mandate needed when normal payment authorisation exists?

Normal authorisation confirms that a payment happened, not that it was intended. In agentic commerce the purchase is made by an AI agent rather than the user in person. A mandate is cryptographic proof that the user explicitly sanctioned this action within given limits. It protects the shopper, because the agent cannot exceed the permission, and the merchant, because there is evidence of consent if a dispute arises.

What is the difference between an Intent Mandate and a Cart Mandate?

An Intent Mandate is permission for an intention: the user says buy me trainers, budget up to $90, Nike only. The agent uses it to search and select. A Cart Mandate is the final confirmation: one specific basket with specific items and a specific price, signed before payment. The two-stage structure lets the agent act autonomously inside the permission without confirming every step.

How does a mandate protect against fraud?

The mandate is signed with the user's key and carries its limits — budget, category, time window. It cannot be altered or rebound to a different transaction. The payment system and the merchant verify the signature before processing the payment, which prevents unauthorised purchases through a hijacked or compromised agent.

Payment Mandate

Why payment mandates exist

The two types of mandate

Cryptographic protection

Frequently asked questions

Related terms

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