Stripe Gives AI Agents Dedicated Link Balances

Stripe has launched Link balance, which lets consumers fund a dedicated balance and set a per purchase limit for their AI agents, Stripe Crypto said in a post on 27 October. The product starts with Instinct, an AI personal assistant. Purchases within the limit go through without approval each time; larger transactions still need the consumer's approval.

Consumers add money with a debit card. Stripe Crypto Onramp converts the dollars into a dollar denominated stablecoin on Tempo, and the funds sit in a non custodial wallet powered by Privy, which handles key management and transaction signing. Consumers see a balance in dollars. Stripe says this is the first consumer launch of Stripe Financial Accounts backed by Privy's non custodial wallets.

When an agent buys something, Stripe Issuing provides a virtual debit card backed by the Link balance. Merchants accept a normal card payment through their existing checkout and do not need to support stablecoins.

Until now, consumers had to approve every purchase an agent made through Link Agent Wallet, which agents such as Muse, Grok Bot and Instinct already use. According to Stripe, agentic purchases made with Link grew 38 times over the past month.