Alternatives
Alternatives to PayPal for agent checkout
In short
9 other processors sit beside PayPal in the matrix, each with a sourced difference. Among them Checkout.com reads furthest along with 7 live or pilot cells. PayPal's Agent Ready takes payments from AI assistants over ACP and UCP, and Store Sync distributes catalogs to AI surfaces, with access by request form.
The alternatives
| Alternative | One sourced difference | Matrix, protocol by protocol | Stated cells |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stripe | PayPal Agent Ready documents ACP (ChatGPT) and UCP (Google) paths through Braintree or Orders v2, updated 13 Oct 2026, but needs a request form. Stripe documents ACP, UCP, MPP, x402 and Shared Payment Tokens self-serve with prices published. Head-to-head, developer.paypal.com, read 4 Nov 2026. | Stripe reads further along than PayPal for Visa TAP, Visa IC, Agent Pay for Machines, Amex ACE, x402, MPP, Link for agents. PayPal is further along for AP2. | 5 live, 0 pilot, 5 announced |
| Adyen Agentic | Adyen's modular agentic commerce APIs (Agentic Feed, Agentic Cart, Agentic Payments), announced 16 Jun 2026 in limited availability for US enterprise merchants, with ACP and UCP payment flows in docs. adyen.com, read 4 Nov 2026. | Adyen reads further along than PayPal for Visa TAP, Visa IC, Agent Pay for Machines, Amex ACE, x402. PayPal is further along for ACP, UCP. | 0 live, 2 pilot, 7 announced |
| Checkout.com agentic commerce | Checkout.com's single-integration agentic layer covering ACP, UCP, Visa Trusted Agent Protocol, AP2 and Mastercard Verifiable Intent, offered via a waitlist on its agentic commerce page. checkout.com, read 4 Nov 2026. | Checkout.com reads further along than PayPal for AP2, Visa TAP, Visa IC, Mastercard Agent Pay, Agent Pay for Machines, Verifiable Intent. PayPal is further along for ACP, UCP. | 0 live, 7 pilot, 1 announced |
| Braintree (PayPal Enterprise Payments) | Braintree (now PayPal Enterprise Payments) is the processor in PayPal Agent Ready's ACP path and one of two UCP paths; the other UCP path runs through PayPal Orders v2 for PayPal Checkout merchants. Head-to-head, developer.paypal.com, read 4 Nov 2026. | Braintree is not further along than PayPal on any protocol. PayPal is further along for AP2. | 2 live, 0 pilot, 1 announced |
| Coinbase Developer Platform (x402) | Originator of x402, now under the Linux Foundation's x402 Foundation. CDP runs a hosted x402 facilitator on Base and Solana with OFAC and KYT screening and per-transaction fees. x402.org, read 4 Nov 2026. | Coinbase reads further along than PayPal for Visa TAP, Agent Pay for Machines, x402. PayPal is further along for ACP, UCP, Mastercard Agent Pay. | 1 live, 1 pilot, 2 announced |
| Crossmint | Agent-side payment platform: Agent Cards (vaulted cards with Visa Intelligent Commerce and Mastercard Agent Pay credentials), Agent Wallets for x402 and MPP, and Agent Checkouts on any website. crossmint.com, read 4 Nov 2026. | Crossmint reads further along than PayPal for Visa IC, Mastercard Agent Pay, Agent Pay for Machines, Amex ACE, x402, MPP. PayPal is further along for ACP. | 5 live, 0 pilot, 3 announced |
| Skyfire | Agent identity and payments network: KYA and KYAPay tokens bind platform, agent and human principal identity to payment, with a wallet for cards and stablecoins. docs.skyfire.xyz, read 4 Nov 2026. | Skyfire reads further along than PayPal for Visa IC, Agent Pay for Machines. PayPal is further along for ACP, UCP, AP2. | 0 live, 0 pilot, 3 announced |
| PayOS | Payments data platform with PayOS Agent Tokens and PayOS Wallet: passkey-approved, scoped network tokens agents use in place of the card. PYMNTS reported on 29 Sep 2025 that PayOS completed a live Mastercard Agentic Token payment. payos.ai, read 4 Nov 2026. | PayOS reads further along than PayPal for Agent Pay for Machines. PayPal is further along for ACP, UCP, AP2. | 0 live, 0 pilot, 2 announced |
| Worldpay (Global Payments) | Worldpay, now part of Global Payments, positions fraud tools, credential management, agent verification and a Worldpay MCP server for agent-led purchases, and says it works across ACP and UCP. worldpay.com, read 4 Nov 2026. | Worldpay reads further along than PayPal for Visa TAP, Agent Pay for Machines. PayPal is further along for ACP, UCP, Mastercard Agent Pay. | 0 live, 0 pilot, 5 announced |
Back to the PayPal profile or the processors and enablers index.
Sources
- stripe.com/newsroom/news/agentic-commerce-suite, read 4 Nov 2026
- adyen.com/press-and-media/adyen-agentic, read 4 Nov 2026
- checkout.com/newsroom/checkout-adopts-acp-backed-by-openai-to-power-agentic-commerce-for-enterprise-merchants, read 4 Nov 2026
- braintreepayments.com, read 4 Nov 2026
- x402 Foundation operational launch, read 4 Nov 2026
- crossmint.com/announcement/agent-commerce-toolkit-launch, read 4 Nov 2026
- docs.skyfire.xyz/llms.txt, read 4 Nov 2026
- payos.ai, read 4 Nov 2026
- worldpay.com/en/agentic-commerce, read 4 Nov 2026
- Stripe Link Agent Wallet docs, read 4 Nov 2026
- developer.paypal.com/agent-ready/overview, read 4 Nov 2026
- developer.paypal.com/agentic-commerce-services/about, read 4 Nov 2026
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