Visa, BILL and Billtrust announced on Tuesday (20) a operational pilot that allows artificial intelligence agents to complete payments for previously approved business invoices. The initiative automates access to supplier portals, a step that normally requires employee intervention even after payment authorization.
According to the companies, the system already processes real transactions between buyers using BILL and suppliers served by Billtrust.
The process begins with the buyer's approval of the invoice and payment instructions. Then, a BILL agent, registered through the Trusted Agent Protocol and Visa's Agentic Directory, uses tokenized payment credentials to initiate the operation.
Billtrust recognizes and authenticates the agent on the supplier portal, allowing it to complete the payment without having to share access credentials or perform a conventional login. This authentication can also replace checks such as CAPTCHA, normally used to block automated access.
The agent does not decide which invoices should be paid. Its role is to execute eligible payments within the conditions previously authorized by the buyer. Suppliers continue to apply their own acceptance rules and maintain visibility over the authorization and completion of transactions.
"Companies should not have to choose between automation and control when making payments," said Mark Nelsen, senior vice president and head of products for commercial solutions and money movement at Visa.
The initiative seeks to eliminate a manual step in accounts payable processes, allowing systems from different companies to complete transactions without the need for an employee to enter payment data on the supplier portal.
The pilot remains restricted to participating companies. Visa, BILL and Billtrust did not disclose how many transactions were processed, the amounts involved or a date for broader availability of the technology.
