Major payments and financial technology providers have launched a live pilot program designed to allow artificial intelligence agents to initiate and finalize corporate invoice transactions through supplier portals without requiring human intervention. The collaborative initiative brings together software platforms Bill and Billtrust alongside global payments giant Visa, marking a significant step toward automated commercial transactions.
Eliminating Friction in Corporate Portals
Traditionally, completing a business-to-business transaction involves multiple manual touchpoints, even when utilizing digital software. Once a corporate buyer approves an invoice, an employee typically must navigate external vendor portals, log in manually, and submit payment details. Executives involved in the new pilot note that these portals have long served as operational bottlenecks. By deploying authorized artificial intelligence agents, the participating companies aim to remove these administrative hurdles while preserving strict oversight and financial accuracy.
Archana Prasad, senior vice president of payments and financial services at Bill, emphasized the operational relief the technology offers to corporate finance departments. According to Prasad, automating the final portal submission stage allows finance teams to recover valuable time while ensuring suppliers receive funds more efficiently.
How the Trusted Agent Framework Operates
The system relies on a specialized technical architecture designed to verify automated traffic without triggering standard security blocks. The process initiates when a payment agent provided by Bill operates under Visa infrastructure, utilizing tokenized payment credentials instead of sharing traditional login credentials. This method adheres directly to preset payment controls established by the buying organization.
To navigate supplier-side systems smoothly, the agent utilizes protocols that bypass conventional defensive measures such as CAPTCHA challenges. Billtrust leverages this framework to recognize, authenticate, and grant immediate system access to the authorized agent. Kunal Patel, senior vice president of payments at Billtrust, stated that connecting buyer-side invoice approvals with supplier-side payment acceptance enables businesses to release trapped cash rapidly while strictly adhering to complex acceptance policies.
- AI agents execute only pre-approved buyer instructions without making independent purchasing choices.
- Tokenized credentials replace shared supplier portal logins for enhanced security.
- Specialized protocols distinguish legitimate automated traffic from unauthorized bot activity.
Expanding Payment Horizons
The ongoing live pilot processes actual transactions for participating corporate buyers and vendors. Mark Nelsen, senior vice president and head of product for commercial and money movement solutions at Visa, noted that the initiative addresses a practical commercial challenge by demonstrating how identity verification, transaction visibility, and rigorous payment controls can successfully function across disparate platforms.
If the pilot proves successful, platforms like Bill could extend card-payment capabilities to suppliers that historically relied primarily on traditional checks or automated clearing house transfers. Meanwhile, receivable specialists like Billtrust could accelerate portal collections, ultimately helping organizations improve critical efficiency metrics such as days sales outstanding as the industry continues exploring agentic payment opportunities.