Apify founder Jan Curn: every agent payment protocol exists, real volume is near zero
AI Engineer · youtube · 2026-10-19
The AI Engineer channel published an interview with Apify founder Jan Curn on why AI agents still won't pay for anything.
Key points:
- x402, AP2, ACP, MPP, TAP, UCP — every big fintech and payments company has an agent payment standard, yet real transaction volume is close to zero
- Curn walks the agent payment funnel (need → setup → discovery → purchase) to show where it breaks:
- Need: API keys still win; most use cases don't need a new payment method
- Setup: wallets and payment configuration remain too hard
- Discovery: how an agent trusts a service to buy from is an unsolved trust problem
- Buying: pay-per-use billing and batch settlement have finally landed
- He argues crypto is well-suited for agent payments on fee and settlement mechanics
A full walkthrough from protocol landscape to what might actually work.
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