AWS launched Amazon Bedrock AgentCore Payments in partnership with Coinbase and Stripe, allowing AI agents to autonomously transact using wallet funding and spending limits. The infrastructure uses x402, an open-source micropayment protocol that has already processed 169 million payments, enabling agents to pay for APIs, data, and services in milliseconds at fractional cent costs.
Why it matters: This shift from human-centric to agent-centric pricing models will fundamentally reshape software monetization for API builders and SaaS companies who need to prepare agent-native payment infrastructure now.