Visa, BILL and Billtrust pilot AI agent payments through supplier portals

Visa, BILL and Billtrust have launched a pilot in which trusted AI agents initiate and complete approved invoice payments through supplier portals. The pilot is already processing transactions between buyers using BILL and suppliers using Billtrust.

The companies describe the project as the first live pilot of its kind. It uses capabilities from Visa Intelligent Commerce, including Visa Trusted Agent Protocol and Agentic Directory, to authenticate AI agents securely on payment portals.

Automating payments through supplier portals

Many supplier portals require human authentication, which limits payment automation. Even after an invoice has been approved, finance teams often still need to enter payment details manually into a supplier’s system.

Archana Prasad, SVP of Payments and Financial Services at BILL, said supplier portals remain a point of friction because they require people to complete a step that should be automated. BILL’s AI-powered payments technology, developed with Visa and Billtrust, is intended to complete the payment, help suppliers get paid faster and give finance teams time back.

The BILL Payment Agent is registered through Visa Trusted Agent Protocol and Agentic Directory. On behalf of BILL customers, it uses tokenised payment credentials and controls aligned with the buyer’s approved instructions to make card payments for supplier invoices.

Once a payment is initiated, Billtrust recognises and authenticates the authorised agent, then grants it access to the portal. The companies say this authentication can meet site protections historically provided by CAPTCHA and other bot-blocking tools, without requiring a separate agent login.

Identity, controls and visibility

The pilot combines several elements: an authenticated agent acting for an identified buyer, tokenised credentials instead of shared supplier-portal logins, payment controls tied to the customer’s approved instructions, and a dedicated payment path linked to the relevant invoice. It also provides visibility into the authorisation and completion of each payment.

Mark Nelsen, SVP and Head of Product, Commercial and Money Movement Solutions at Visa, said the pilot applies agentic commerce to a practical B2B payment challenge. The companies are testing how identity, payment controls and transaction visibility can support agents that make payments across platforms.

Benefits for buyers and suppliers

For BILL buyers, automating the portal step removes the need for finance teams to enter information into supplier systems manually. Suppliers using Billtrust can recognise and accept agent-initiated payments while retaining the data needed to process and reconcile them under their existing acceptance policies. The companies say accepting portal payments in line with those policies can speed up cash flow and release trapped cash.

Kunal Patel, SVP Payments at Billtrust, said agentic commerce depends on businesses being able to trust agents across systems with the clarity and accountability expected of people. By linking buyer-side invoice approval with supplier-side payment acceptance, the pilot is designed to preserve visibility and control for both parties.

The initiative moves AI agents beyond automating internal processes and into live commercial transactions on behalf of buyers and suppliers. As the pilot progresses, Visa, BILL and Billtrust plan to explore further opportunities in agentic payments.