Visa, BILL and Billtrust are running a live pilot in which an AI agent completes approved invoice payments through supplier portals. That final step, the companies say, often requires an employee to manually log into a supplier portal and submit payment information, and automating it could let buyer platforms such as BILL expand card payment opportunities to suppliers that have historically supported automated payments primarily through ACH or check.
The companies call it the first live pilot to enable trusted AI agents to initiate and complete approved buyer invoice payments through supplier portals. They say the pilot is live and processing transactions end to end with participating buyers using BILL and Billtrust suppliers.
Many payment portals, the companies say, relied on human authentication requirements that limited how approved payments could be automated.
In the pilot, the BILL Payment Agent, registered using Visa’s Trusted Agent Protocol and Agentic Directory, uses tokenized payment credentials and controls aligned with the buyer’s approved payment instructions to issue payments on behalf of BILL’s customers. Once a payment is initiated, Billtrust uses the same Visa protocol to recognize, authenticate and grant access to the agent, so BILL can complete the invoice payment. The companies say this agent authentication can satisfy the site protections historically provided by CAPTCHA and other bot blocking mechanisms, without an additional agent login.
The controls are specific. The agent acts on behalf of an identified buyer, uses tokenized credentials rather than shared supplier portal logins and pays along a path tied to the specific invoice, with visibility into the authorization and completion of the payment. Asked whether the agent makes payment decisions, the companies answer: “No. The agent only executes eligible payments that have already been approved by the buyer.”
“For too long, supplier portals have been friction points, requiring a person to manually complete what should be an automated step,” said Archana Prasad, SVP of Payments and Financial Services at BILL.
On the supplier side, the companies say Billtrust customers can receive fast portal payments in accordance with their acceptance policy, which can help accelerate cash flow. The companies add that supplier platforms such as Billtrust could help suppliers improve Days Sales Outstanding (DSO).
“This pilot applies agentic commerce to a real B2B-payment problem, by having trusted agents complete payments across platforms. Working with BILL and Billtrust, we are testing how identity, payment controls and transaction visibility can make that model work,” said Mark Nelsen, SVP and Head of Product, Commercial & Money Movement Solutions, Visa.
The companies named no participating buyers or suppliers, gives no transaction count or value, says nothing on pricing and sets no date for a wider rollout. The companies say that as the pilot progresses, they will continue exploring opportunities in agentic payments.
Herald View
Cards stand to gain most. If an approved invoice can be paid through a supplier portal without anyone typing in the details, suppliers that leaned on ACH or check get a reason to take cards. Who absorbs the acceptance cost is a question the companies do not touch. The pilot also writes a rulebook: an agent that carries a token instead of a password and pays only what the buyer has approved could become the standard that rival networks and payables platforms are asked to match.
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