x402, MPP, AP2, ACP: A Developer Guide to Agent Payment Protocols in 2026
Multiple competing protocols have emerged in 2026 to handle payments made by AI agents, each addressing a different layer of the transaction process. x402 and MPP both operate at the HTTP 402 settlement layer, enabling per-API-call or per-data payments, with x402 focused on on-chain stablecoin rails and MPP adding fiat and card support via Stripe. ACP, co-developed by Stripe and OpenAI, targets the checkout experience within chat interfaces, allowing buyers to approve purchases conversationally while merchants retain control over fulfillment. AP2 addresses a separate concern — verifying that a human actually authorized a payment before funds move — making it relevant for trust and compliance use cases. Developers are advised not to treat these as competing standards but to combine them based on whether their system needs to handle settlement, authorization, or checkout.
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