Human Not Present
Human Not Present (HNP).
Human Not Present (HNP) is an agent payment mode, introduced in AP2 v0.2, in which an AI agent completes a purchase on its own under constraints the user approved in advance, without the user confirming the final checkout.
Human Not Present is card-not-present's next step: the cardholder is absent from the moment of purchase, not only from the terminal. That moves the whole consent decision earlier. Whatever the user signs up front, the agent can act on later without asking again.
AP2's answer is cryptographic. The user signs open mandates that set the limits and name the agent's key; the agent signs each closed mandate; verifiers check the second against the first. A merchant or issuer gets evidence of both the user's constraints and the agent's specific decision. Sources: Google on donating AP2 to the FIDO Alliance, FIDO Alliance announcement, and the AP2 v0.2 specification.
Our reading. For CIAM, the open mandate is a consent artifact and should be stored like one: who signed, which agent key, what limits, when it expires. Pair HNP flows with a way to pull the user back in for edge cases, such as CIBA or a push approval. For the payments trust stack, see consumer-authorized intent.
Common questions
What does Human Not Present mean in agent payments?
It means the AI agent completes the payment without the user approving the final checkout. The user approved constraints in advance, such as item, price limit and timing, and the agent signs the specific transaction with its own key within those limits. AP2 v0.2 introduced it in April 2026.
How is Human Not Present different from Human Present?
In Human Present, the user explicitly approves the final checkout and payment. In Human Not Present, the user approves only constraints ahead of time, and the agent's own signature on the closed mandates stands in for the user's final click, trusted because the user-signed open mandates named the agent's key.
Who maintains the Agent Payments Protocol now?
Google donated AP2 to the FIDO Alliance, announced April 28 and 29, 2026, so that it stays platform-agnostic and community-led. The v0.2 specification with Human Not Present flows was released at the same time.
What are the risks of Human Not Present payments?
The user is not there to catch a mistake, so the constraints carry all the weight. Loose constraints let an agent buy something technically allowed but unwanted. Tight limits, short validity, a clear dispute record, and step-up to the user when a purchase falls near a limit reduce that risk.
Related terms
In the guides
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