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Stripe Inc. has expanded its reach into agentic commerce to include support for buy now, pay later options through deals with Klarna AB and Affirm Holdings Inc. At the same time, Stripe is partnering with Visa Inc. and Mastercard to support the two networks’ agentic network tokens.
Affirm and Klarna announced early Tuesday they will deploy Stripe’s shared payment token to enable artificial-intelligence shopping agents to offer BNPL as an option at checkout.
Stripe says it is expanding use of its shared payment tokens to BNPL in response to customer demand. Stripe launched the tokens late last year.
“We’ve seen widespread adoption of SPTs by leading businesses such as Etsy and URBN (including Anthropologie, Free People, and Urban Outfitters). Since then, sellers have asked us for access to more of the most popular payment methods for agentic transactions,” says Viraj Gupta, product manager, Cards Vault, for Stripe, in a blog post.
Stripe merchants offering BNPL can see up to a 14% increase in revenue, as well as higher conversion rates and average order values, Gupta adds.
The deal with Affirm expands the BNPL provider’s relationship with Stripe. Late last year, Affirm began making BNPL loans available to in-store shoppers through the Stripe terminal.
Shoppers using AI agents can select Affirm as their payment method on AI platforms that use Stripe’s shared-payment tokens. After completing Affirm’s real-time eligibility check at checkout, shoppers can choose their BNPL repayment plan and complete their purchase within the AI platform. Stripe will process the payment without exposing sensitive credentials.
“As AI agents help people browse and buy, the fundamentals of paying shouldn’t change. Shoppers still expect to see the total cost upfront, choose a clear repayment plan, and avoid late fees or compounding interest,” an Affirm spokesperson says by email. “That’s what Affirm has offered since day one, and is what we’re excited to bring to agentic commerce with the help of partners like Stripe.”
In addition to its partnership with Stripe, Affirm supports Google’s Agent-to-Agent Protocol and Universal Commerce Protocol, the Affirm spokesperson adds.
Klarna says it is deploying Stripe’s shared payment tokens to address what it says is a “growing gap in agentic commerce,” AI shopping agents defaulting to card-on-file payments, which prevents shoppers from selecting alternative payment methods, such as BNPL, through agentic-commerce platforms.
“As AI agents begin purchasing on consumers’ behalf, it’s critical that flexible payment options remain available,” David Sykes, chief commercial officer for Klarna, says in a statement. “By supporting Stripe’s Shared Payment Tokens, we’re ensuring Klarna is embedded in this next generation of checkout experiences from day one.”
Stripe has announced support for MasterCard Inc.’s Agent Pay protocol and Visa Inc.’s Intelligent Commerce.
Mastercard’s and Visa’s agentic network tokens are network-issued digital credentials that allow authorized AI agents to initiate payments on a customer’s behalf without exposing underlying card details.
“Agentic commerce is accelerating the next phase of digital payments, where security, control, and scale are foundational,” Rubail Birwadker, senior vice president, head of growth products and partnerships for Visa, says in the Stripe blog. “Through our partnership with Stripe, Visa agentic network tokens will power agent-driven payments with the same trust, performance, and protections merchants rely on every day.”
