---
title: Pine Labs Payments Protocol (P3P)
slug: ai/p3p
hidden: false
sidebar_order: 0
metadata:
  title: >-
    P3P, Pine Labs Payments Protocol, agentic commerce, machine payments, AI
    agent payments, autonomous payments, agent-to-agent payments,
    machine-to-machine commerce, payment protocol, HTTP 402, payment token,
    verifiable receipts
  description: >-
    Build agent-to-agent payment experiences using Pine Labs Payments Protocol
    (P3P). Enable secure payment authorization, order creation, and
    machine-driven commerce workflows for AI agents, autonomous systems, and
    embedded commerce.
sidebar_label: Overview
excerpt: >-
  Build autonomous agent-to-agent payment flows using Pine Labs Payment Protocol
  (P3P).
---
## What is Pine Labs Payments Protocol (P3P)?

Pine Labs Payments Protocol (P3P) is an open payments protocol that enables AI agents, merchants, and autonomous systems to securely initiate, authorize, and execute payments without a human at the point of transaction.

P3P uses standard HTTP interfaces to let participants discover services, create orders, obtain delegated authorization, process payments, and exchange verifiable receipts. A consent-driven mandate model gives users upfront control over agent spending while enabling fully autonomous commerce.

<a rel="noopener noreferrer" class="!hidden lg:!inline-flex btn-light-green px-3.5 py-1.5 text-sm shadow-sm" href="p3p/quickstart">Quickstart Guide</a>


## Who Uses Pine Labs Payments Protocol (P3P)?
P3P is designed for merchants, AI agents, applications, and autonomous systems that need to support secure, consent-driven machine payments.

| Participant | What they do |
|---|---|
| **Merchants** | Enable AI agents and applications to securely pay for products, services, subscriptions, and digital resources. |
| **AI Agents & Applications** | Execute payments on behalf of users within approved authorization and spending limits. |
| **Users** | Control how, when, and how much agents can spend on their behalf. |
| **Pine Labs** | Coordinates payment authorization, transaction processing, receipt exchange, and settlement across participants. |


## How P3P Works?

```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
    participant Client as Client
    participant Server as Server
    participant PL as P3P

    Client->>Server: Request Paid Resource

    Server-->>Client: 402 Payment Required

    Client->>PL: Create Payment
    PL-->>Client: Payment Token

    Client->>Server: Retry Request with Payment Token

    Server->>PL: Capture Payment
    PL-->>Server: Payment Capture Result

    Server-->>Client: Resource + Payment Receipt
```

## Key Features

<div className="not-prose card-grid-3">
<div className="card-grid-item">
<span className="inline-flex items-center justify-center w-10 h-10 rounded-lg bg-[#D0F6E5]/60 mb-2"><svg width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="#003434" strokeWidth="1.8"><rect x="3" y="11" width="18" height="10" rx="2"/><path d="M12 11V5a4 4 0 0 0-4-4H6"/><circle cx="12" cy="16" r="1"/></svg></span>
<h4>Agent-Native Payments</h4>
<p>P3P lets AI agents, autonomous pipelines, and embedded commerce systems initiate and complete transactions without requiring a human at the point of payment.</p>
</div>
<div className="card-grid-item">
<span className="inline-flex items-center justify-center w-10 h-10 rounded-lg bg-[#D0F6E5]/60 mb-2"><svg width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="#003434" strokeWidth="1.8"><path d="M3 12h4l3-9 4 18 3-9h4"/></svg></span>
<h4>Standardized Communication</h4>
<p>A single HTTP-native protocol for payment authorization, capture, and receipt exchange that works consistently across agents, merchants, and payment providers.</p>
</div>
<div className="card-grid-item">
<span className="inline-flex items-center justify-center w-10 h-10 rounded-lg bg-[#D0F6E5]/60 mb-2"><svg width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="#003434" strokeWidth="1.8"><path d="M12 2L20 6V12C20 17 16.5 21 12 22C7.5 21 4 17 4 12V6L12 2Z"/><path d="M9 12l2 2 4-4"/></svg></span>
<h4>Secure Payment Authorization</h4>
<p>Every transaction is scoped and bounded at issuance. Payment tokens are tied to a specific resource, amount, and expiry. They cannot be replayed, redirected, or reused.</p>
</div>
<div className="card-grid-item">
<span className="inline-flex items-center justify-center w-10 h-10 rounded-lg bg-[#D0F6E5]/60 mb-2"><svg width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="#003434" strokeWidth="1.8"><rect x="2" y="5" width="20" height="14" rx="2"/><path d="M2 10h20"/></svg></span>
<h4>Multi-Payment Method Support</h4>
<p>Currently live on UPI ReservePay. Cards, Net Banking, Wallets, and EMI options are on the roadmap. The P3P challenge and receipt format remains the same across all rails.</p>
</div>
<div className="card-grid-item">
<span className="inline-flex items-center justify-center w-10 h-10 rounded-lg bg-[#D0F6E5]/60 mb-2"><svg width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="#003434" strokeWidth="1.8"><polyline points="22 7 13.5 15.5 8.5 10.5 2 17"/><polyline points="16 7 22 7 22 13"/></svg></span>
<h4>Real-Time Status Tracking</h4>
<p>Track payment lifecycle events and transaction updates in real time. Every state change, from challenge to capture to receipt, is observable and auditable.</p>
</div>
<div className="card-grid-item">
<span className="inline-flex items-center justify-center w-10 h-10 rounded-lg bg-[#D0F6E5]/60 mb-2"><svg width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="#003434" strokeWidth="1.8"><path d="M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z"/><polyline points="14 2 14 8 20 8"/><line x1="16" y1="13" x2="8" y2="13"/><line x1="16" y1="17" x2="8" y2="17"/></svg></span>
<h4>Verifiable Receipts</h4>
<p>Every completed transaction returns a cryptographically verifiable receipt. Receipts serve as proof of payment for audit trails, compliance, and dispute resolution.</p>
</div>
</div>

## Supported Use Cases

<CardGrid columns={2}>
<Card icon="shopping-cart" title="AI Shopping Assistants" description="Enable AI assistants to complete purchases on behalf of customers by selecting, authorizing, and confirming transactions without manual intervention at each step." />
<Card icon="store" title="Marketplace Transactions" description="Support machine-to-machine commerce across marketplace platforms, where client and server systems interact directly through the P3P protocol." />
<Card icon="code" title="Embedded Commerce" description="Integrate payment execution directly into applications and workflows, so purchasing happens as a native step in the process rather than a redirect to an external checkout." />
<Card icon="zap" title="Autonomous Procurement" description="Automate purchasing flows for both B2B and B2C scenarios, where systems initiate and complete transactions based on predefined rules and approved spending limits." />
</CardGrid>

## Next Steps

<CardGrid columns={2}>
<Card icon="rocket" title="P3P Quickstart Guide" description="Protocol architecture, concepts, and your first paid endpoint" href="p3p/quickstart" />
<Card icon="package" title="P3P SDKs" description="Full SDK reference for TypeScript and Python" href="p3p/sdks" />
</CardGrid>