How should autonomous software pay, get paid, and choose infrastructure?
Machine Observer maps the payment protocols, wallets, routers, marketplaces, identity systems and monetization layers available to agents. Declared capabilities and directly observed probe behavior stay separate, so a broad feature list is not mistaken for proven settlement performance.
New to agent payments?
Start with the evidence-backed guide to HTTP 402, wallets, routing, buyer policy, and the difference between declared and observed support.
Read AI agent payments and x402 →The agent-payment stack.
Artifact generated 2026-10-18T11:12:30.865Z.
Probe coverage: complete · 8/8 HTTP responses. Network failures are unavailable observations, not measured zero accessibility.
A reference unit, not a cryptocurrency.
1 AUNIT = $1.00 USD of reference purchasing power. AUNIT is not a token, balance, asset, redemption promise, or settlement rail. It exists so an agent can compare a $0.005 x402 call, a card purchase, or another rail in one normalized unit before deciding how to pay.
The eventual optimization target is total transaction utility: all-in cost, latency, reliability, volatility exposure, policy fit, reversibility and counterparty confidence. Settlement still occurs in a real asset or fiat rail chosen under the buyer's own policy.
Infrastructure coverage
Free JSON: /api/v1/indexes/agent-payments
| Provider | Type | Coverage | Probe | Routing | Buyer controls | Non-custodial option | Discovery | Protocols |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agent402 ↗ provider-declared-and-public-ledger | seller-index-and-smart-order-router | 79/100 | accessible | yes | yes | — | yes | x402, MPP |
| Superstables ↗ provider-declared | payment-router | 75/100 | accessible | yes | yes | yes | yes | x402, MPP, AP2, ACP |
| Crossmint ↗ provider-declared | wallet-and-commerce-platform | 74/100 | accessible | yes | yes | yes | no | x402, AP2, Visa Intelligent Commerce |
| PayAgents ↗ provider-declared | payment-orchestrator | 65/100 | accessible | yes | yes | yes | no | x402, L402 |
| Skyfire ↗ provider-declared | identity-and-payment-platform | 58/100 | accessible | no | yes | no | yes | Skyfire KYA, Skyfire Pay |
| Nevermined ↗ provider-declared | agent-payment-platform | 54/100 | accessible | yes | yes | — | no | x402, multi-rail |
| Coinbase / x402 ↗ protocol-originator-declared | protocol-and-facilitator-infrastructure | 51/100 | restricted | no | yes | yes | yes | x402 |
| Routex ↗ open-source-project-declared | x402-chain-router | 31/100 | accessible | yes | no | yes | no | x402 |
Coverage is not endorsement.
Coverage score measures declared infrastructure breadth, not financial safety, investment merit or independent product quality.
Capabilities are labeled provider-declared unless stronger public settlement evidence is available. HTTP probe accessibility, access restriction, and network failure are distinguished.
A 401, 403 or 429 means the host responded but restricted this automated probe; it is not treated as an outage.
Machine Observer ownership, advertising spend and sponsorship do not alter provider scores.
This index and AUNIT do not hold funds, exchange assets, authorize payment or execute settlement.