Cashfree launches AI agentic payments for merchants through WebMCP

By Divya Shah

Why this matters: Agentic checkout could simplify AI-led payments, reduce transaction costs, improve merchant conversions and create new opportunities for automated digital commerce.

Cashfree, an AI-native payments platform, launched Checkout for Agents, a new capability built on the WebMCP standard that allows AI agents to complete payment processes on behalf of customers. With this launch, Cashfree became the first payments company in India to bring WebMCP technology to its checkout. 

The new capability was made available to all merchants using Cashfree’s hosted checkout, payment forms and payment links. Merchants did not need to make changes to their existing integrations to accept payments from customers shopping through AI agents. 

Instead of interpreting a website’s layout or code, AI agents could follow these instructions to move through the payment process. According to Cashfree, WebMCP had the potential to reduce the number of tokens used by AI agents to complete checkout by more than 40%. 

When an agent reaches a Cashfree checkout page, the page shows it only the steps that apply at that point. The agent can read the instructions on the MCP, including order details and available payment methods, choose a method, and relay it back to the customer for final payment. 

Reeju Datta, co-founder of Cashfree, said the company wanted to make sure that merchants could accept payments wherever customers chose to shop, including through AI agents. 

He added that Cashfree had spoken to more than 50 founders developing AI agents and identified WebMCP integration as a practical way to support agent-led payments across its merchant network without requiring changes to existing integrations. 

For customers, the new checkout capability was designed to make agent-assisted payments faster and more reliable. AI agents could reach the payment stage in fewer steps, reducing the risk of errors or interruptions, while customers retained control by approving the final payment.