Cloudflare gives AI agents wallets with built-in spending controls
Cloudflare’s Wallets will give AI agents running on its platform a human-readable wallet handle for paying APIs and online content within limits set by their creator. Handle reservations have opened, while the service will become available in the coming months. It will include two types of digital wallets: Account Wallets and Virtual Wallets.
Wallets (Source: Cloudflare)
Account Wallets are designed for people and organizations that use Cloudflare. They allow owners to add funds, create and fund Virtual Wallets for AI agents, and withdraw money when needed.
Virtual Wallets are built for AI agents and operate through API keys. Agents can spend money only within limits defined by the Account Wallet owner, including spending caps, approved merchants, and transaction limits. This allows AI agents to make payments on a user’s behalf without requiring approval for every transaction while keeping spending under control.
“Cloudflare Wallets will allow you to store stablecoins, purchase services, and receive funds across the web. Each account with a wallet will also be able to create Virtual Wallets for its agents to enable them to buy APIs, MCP Tools, content, and more,” Will Papper, Director of Product at Cloudflare, explained.
Users can share their Cloudflare Wallet handle, giving AI agents a consistent digital identity when interacting with merchants.
Using Cloudflare Wallets
Earlier this month, Cloudflare introduced Monetization Gateway, which lets websites and apps charge small fees for AI services, data, and content through the x402 protocol. Sending or receiving x402 payments requires a compatible digital wallet, with Cloudflare Wallets designed as the platform’s native option.
Virtual Wallets let AI agents test multiple APIs and online services using low-cost x402 micropayments without creating accounts or requiring manual approval for each transaction. For example, an AI agent with a $10 budget can safely evaluate multiple low-cost APIs without risking unexpected charges.
Administrators can manage spending policies through an Account Wallet, including assigning each employee’s AI agent a weekly budget for AI services. Agents that reach their spending limit can request additional funds for approval.
The comany plans to add controls that notify administrators of unusual spending, allowing them to approve additional funds or stop unexpected activity. Initially, users will be able to fund wallets through supported payment methods or, where available, with stablecoins.
Cloudflare Pay for agent identity
Cloudflare aims to make AI agent identity easier to verify by linking wallets to Cloudflare accounts through cloudflare.pay. This gives AI agents a trusted way to identify themselves when interacting with websites and online services, helping businesses confirm they are acting on behalf of a person or organization.
AI agents can identify themselves using a unique cloudflare.pay address. For example, a research agent could use an address such as research.example.cloudflare.pay, allowing websites to recognize the organization it represents. Sharing this identity is optional, and businesses can decide whether to give preference to identified AI agents.
Human-readable AI agent identities
Cloudflare uses Turnstile and Bot Management to help websites distinguish legitimate users from bots without relying on CAPTCHAs.
Because AI agent identity standards are constantly changing, the company is proposing human-readable identifiers that map to cryptographic key pairs, similar to how DNS maps domain names to IP addresses. cloudflare.pay is intended as a simple, human-readable identity layer while remaining compatible with future industry standards.
“We are not trying to define a particular schema or other verification system. We only want to make identity simple to remember and easy to declare,” Papper said.
The service will support new AI agent identity standards as they become available through the x402 Foundation, with the goal of encouraging broader industry adoption.