Personal shopping agents
Let an agent prepare a purchase and request approval without giving it a reusable copy of the user's real card number.
Independent tool overview
Link for Agents at a glance
Link for Agents is Stripe's consumer wallet connection for letting a personal AI agent request a one-time virtual card or payment token after the user approves a purchase.
Visit the official Link for Agents site ↗
- Best for
- Supervised purchases made by personal or custom AI agents
- Availability
- US Link accounts only
- Current approval model
- User approves every purchase
- Credentials
- One-time virtual card or Shared Payment Token
- Agent connections
- CLI, skill, or MCP server
- Published Link access price
- No separate subscription price listed
Overview
What Link for Agents is
Link for Agents gives a personal AI agent controlled access to payment credentials backed by the cards or bank accounts already saved in a Link wallet. The agent does not receive the user's underlying card or bank details. After approval, Link creates a one-time virtual card for a normal web checkout or a Shared Payment Token for a compatible machine-payment flow.
The product is a payment layer, not a shopping agent. It can connect to Claude, OpenClaw, or a custom agent through Link's CLI, skill, or MCP interface, but that agent still has to find the item, navigate the seller, and complete the transaction. Link handles authentication, the spend request, human approval, credential issuance, and purchase history.
Current access is limited to US Link accounts. Link's public product page says every purchase requires approval today, with configurable unattended spending controls listed as coming soon. That makes the current release better suited to supervised purchases than fully autonomous recurring buying.
Use cases
Who Link for Agents is best for
The strongest fit depends on the job you need the product to complete, not the size of its feature list.
Developers prototyping agent commerce
Use the official CLI, structured output, test mode, or MCP interface to add a supervised payment step to a custom agent.
Agents buying across ordinary websites
Issue a temporary card for a standard checkout even when the seller is not Link-enabled or does not use Stripe.
Capabilities
Core Link for Agents features
Spend requests
The agent submits merchant, amount, context, line items, and totals so the user can inspect a specific proposed purchase.
Human approval
Link sends a real-time notification and lets the user approve or decline the request in the Link app or on the web.
One-time virtual cards
After approval, Link can provide a temporary card credential that the agent uses in a normal online checkout.
Shared Payment Tokens
For sellers that accept compatible machine payments, Link can issue a one-time, transaction-scoped token instead of a card number.
Protected underlying credentials
The connected agent never receives the raw card or bank details stored in the user's Link wallet.
CLI and MCP access
The open Link CLI supports interactive commands, agent-friendly structured formats, a local MCP server, and an installable agent skill.
Test mode
Developers can run demo purchases with test credentials without charging the underlying payment method.
Purchase visibility
Users can review agent-linked spending and manage connected agents through Link.
Process
How the Link for Agents workflow works
Step 1
Connect the agent
Install the Link skill or CLI, sign in with a US Link account, and approve the agent connection through Link's authentication flow.
Step 2
Prepare the purchase
The agent identifies the seller and submits a spend request with the amount, purchase context, line items, and selected Link payment method.
Step 3
Review the request
The user checks the merchant, item, total, and payment method, then approves or declines within the request window.
Step 4
Issue a temporary credential
Link returns a virtual card or Shared Payment Token tied to the approved request rather than exposing the saved payment credential.
Step 5
Complete and verify
The agent attempts checkout, reports the outcome when configured, and the user verifies the final order and charge in Link and with the merchant.
Cost
Link for Agents pricing and free plan
Link does not publish a separate subscription price for the consumer agent wallet or Link CLI. Users still pay the merchant's purchase total and remain subject to the terms, fees, interest, foreign-exchange charges, and other costs of the selected payment method or transaction. Businesses building their own wallet with Stripe Issuing for agents have a separate commercial product and should obtain Stripe pricing.
Link agent wallet
No separate price published
Consumer access through an eligible US Link account.
- Purchases use a saved eligible payment method
- Merchant totals and payment-method costs still apply
- Check Link's current terms before using an agent
Link CLI
Open-source download
Install the official command-line and MCP tooling from Stripe's public repository.
- Available through npm or npx
- Includes a no-charge test mode for development
- Live purchases charge the selected payment method
Stripe Issuing for agents
Contact Stripe
Separate infrastructure for businesses building custom agent wallets, cards, and financial workflows.
- Not the same product as the consumer Link wallet
- Commercial requirements and pricing depend on the business integration
Pricing checked . Check current pricing at the source ↗
Assessment
Link for Agents strengths and limitations
Where it stands out
- Keeps the user's reusable card and bank credentials away from the connected agent
- Requires explicit purchase approval in the current consumer workflow
- Temporary cards can work at ordinary web checkouts beyond Link-enabled sellers
- Shared Payment Tokens support purpose-built machine-payment flows
- Official CLI includes test mode, structured output, skills, and MCP access
- Central purchase history improves visibility into which agent initiated a spend
What to consider
- Currently available only to consumers with US Link accounts
- It is a wallet connection, not an agent that researches products or navigates checkout by itself
- Each current purchase needs user approval; more granular unattended controls are still listed as coming soon
- Merchant captchas, login requirements, fraud checks, stock changes, and checkout incompatibilities can still stop an agent
- Approval requests expire after 10 minutes, and issued credentials are valid for 12 hours from request creation
- The CLI lists maximums of $5,000 per request, $5,000 per day, and $20,000 over 30 days
- Exposing the CLI's HTTP MCP server beyond its default loopback address can give network callers access to an authenticated Link session
- Users must still verify the merchant, delivery details, return policy, final total, and completed order
Compare
Link for Agents alternatives
The right alternative depends on the specific output, workflow, controls and budget your project requires.
Agents
Payman
Compare Payman when a bank or developer needs policy-controlled money movement, payees, transfers, and audit infrastructure rather than a consumer wallet for web purchases.
Explore Payman →Questions
Link for Agents FAQs
What is Link for Agents?
Link for Agents is Stripe's way to let a connected AI agent request temporary payment credentials backed by the cards or bank accounts in a user's Link wallet.
Does the agent see my real card number?
The agent does not receive the underlying payment credential stored in Link. After an approved request, it can receive a temporary virtual card or a transaction-scoped Shared Payment Token to complete that purchase.
Does Link for Agents require approval for every purchase?
Yes, in the current public consumer experience. Link lists configurable controls for purchases without per-transaction approval as coming soon.
Where is Link for Agents available?
As of August 29, 2026, the official Link CLI and Link privacy information say the agent wallet is limited to US Link accounts.
How much does Link for Agents cost?
Link does not list a separate consumer subscription price for agent-wallet access. You still pay the purchase amount and any costs associated with the merchant, currency conversion, or selected payment method.
What agents work with Link?
Link's product page names Claude, OpenClaw, and custom agents. Its CLI can also run as an MCP server or be installed as an agent skill.
Can a Link agent buy from a site that does not use Stripe?
The official CLI says its temporary virtual card can be used in a standard web checkout and is not limited to Link-enabled or Stripe sellers. The individual merchant can still reject or block the transaction.
What is the difference between a virtual card and a Shared Payment Token?
A virtual card is entered into a conventional card checkout. A Shared Payment Token is a time-limited, single-transaction credential for a seller that accepts a compatible machine-payment protocol.
Is Link for Agents fully autonomous?
No. The current wallet requires user approval for each spend request, and the connected agent remains responsible for the shopping and checkout workflow.
Bottom line
Our Link for Agents verdict
Link for Agents is a practical early bridge between today's card-based web and agentic purchasing because it limits credential exposure and keeps a human approval step. It is most useful for US users and developers who already trust the connected agent and want supervised purchases across ordinary websites. Treat it as delegated payment infrastructure—not a guarantee that the agent picked the right item, found a trustworthy merchant, or completed the order correctly.
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