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Visa has launched a pilot with BILL and Billtrust to let authorized AI agents complete approved invoice payments through supplier portals. The test uses Visa’s Trusted Agent Protocol and tokenized payment credentials; the companies have not disclosed its scale, timing or commercial availability.
Visa has launched a live pilot with BILL and Billtrust to let authorized AI agents initiate and complete buyer-approved invoice payments through supplier portals. The test applies Visa’s Trusted Agent Protocol to authenticate payment agents at supplier sites, aiming to automate a business-to-business process that has often required human logins and manual payment entry.
Visa described the collaboration as the first live pilot allowing AI agents to carry out approved buyer invoice payments end to end through supplier portals. That characterization comes from Visa’s news release, provided to PYMNTS on October 20. The companies did not publish transaction volumes, a pilot duration or a timetable for broader availability.
According to the release, the flow starts with an authorized BILL Payment Agent, registered using Visa’s Trusted Agent Protocol and Agentic Directory. The agent uses tokenized payment credentials and controls based on the buyer’s approved instructions to submit payment for a supplier invoice. Visa said its Intelligent Commerce capabilities support BILL’s automation of card payments for supplier invoices.
At the supplier portal, Billtrust uses the protocol to recognize and authenticate the authorized agent and permit it to access the site so BILL can make the payment for its customer. Visa said this form of authentication can address protections such as CAPTCHA and other bot-blocking measures without requiring a separate agent login. Billtrust customers, as suppliers, may receive portal payments in accordance with their acceptance policies, the release said.
Automating Supplier Invoice Payments
The pilot targets a specific friction point in business payments: a buyer may approve an invoice, but completing payment can still require someone to sign in to a supplier portal and enter details. If an authorized agent can carry out that step under buyer-defined controls, businesses could reduce manual work while keeping payment approval tied to their instructions.
The arrangement also tests how AI agents can operate across separate companies’ systems without being treated as ordinary automated traffic. Authentication, payment limits and transaction visibility are central to whether businesses and suppliers will accept this model. Visa framed the pilot as a test of those controls, rather than evidence that agent-led invoice payments are already widely available.
For suppliers, the potential benefit described by Billtrust is faster receipt of portal payments, provided the payment fits the supplier’s acceptance policy. The announcement does not report measured improvements to payment speed, processing costs or cash flow. Those outcomes remain to be established through the pilot.
invoice payment automation software
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How the Payment Flow Works
Traditional supplier portals may require human authentication, which can prevent an automated process from completing an otherwise approved payment. Visa’s release says the pilot addresses this by registering and authenticating a designated payment agent through its Trusted Agent Protocol and Agentic Directory. The agent then uses tokenized credentials rather than relying on a person to enter card details at the portal.
The roles are divided among the three companies: BILL’s agent acts for the buyer, Visa supplies the agent-authentication and payment capabilities, and Billtrust recognizes and permits the agent’s access on the supplier-portal side. The stated design keeps the buyer’s payment instructions and the supplier’s acceptance policy in the flow. The announcement does not describe the technical integration in greater detail or specify which customers and portals are participating.
The pilot sits within wider industry efforts to apply AI agents to commerce, but its stated focus is accounts payable and supplier invoices, not consumer shopping. Visa’s comments and the pilot description concern a test of agent identity and controlled payment execution in a B2B setting.
“Businesses should not have to choose between automation and control when making payments.”
— Mark Nelsen, Visa senior vice president and head of product, commercial and money movement solutions
Pilot Scale and Results Remain Unknown
The announcement does not identify how many buyers, suppliers or invoices are involved, how long the pilot will run, or whether it is operating across all BILL and Billtrust customers. It also provides no figures on payment completion rates, processing time, security incidents or changes to supplier cash flow.
It remains unclear when the service might become commercially available, what fees or eligibility requirements may apply, and how disputes, failed payments or changes to buyer instructions would be handled. Visa says the system is designed to preserve buyer controls and supplier oversight, but the release does not detail the safeguards or how participating businesses can review and revoke agent permissions.
Pilot Testing Will Shape Availability
The immediate next step is for Visa, BILL and Billtrust to test the payment flow across the participating systems. The companies have not announced a public schedule for the pilot’s completion or named a date for a product launch. Broader availability has not been confirmed.
Further updates would clarify the pilot’s reach, its performance and how businesses can control agent permissions. Until the companies release those details, the confirmed development is a live test of authenticated AI agents making approved supplier-invoice payments, not a general rollout of autonomous business payments.
Key Questions
What are Visa, BILL and Billtrust testing?
They are testing whether an authorized AI agent can complete a buyer-approved invoice payment through a supplier portal, using Visa’s Trusted Agent Protocol for authentication.
How does the payment agent access a supplier portal?
Visa says the BILL Payment Agent is registered through its Trusted Agent Protocol and Agentic Directory. Billtrust uses the protocol to recognize and authenticate the agent and permit access, while the agent uses tokenized credentials and the buyer’s approved payment instructions.
Is the service available to all businesses now?
No broad commercial launch was announced. The companies described a pilot but did not specify its participants, duration or availability beyond the test.
What benefits have been demonstrated so far?
The announcement describes intended automation and says suppliers may receive portal payments faster when they fit acceptance policies. It does not report measured results for payment speed, cost savings or cash flow.
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