Modern payment rails are poorly suited for autonomous software. ACH transfers take days to settle, card networks charge high fees, and anti‑fraud systems are designed to flag any activity that looks non‑human. For AI agents expected to execute tasks instantly and automatically, these conditions are bottlenecks.
Worse, the challenges go beyond payments. There’s still no standard framework for proving agent identity, handling delegated authority, or enforcing spending policies. Businesses trying to use agents today often face a dilemma: either grant direct access to corporate accounts or build hacky workarounds that don’t scale.
So how do you let an autonomous agent move money safely and compliantly, without triggering fraud alerts, violating internal controls, or running afoul of regulators?
Catena is tackling exactly that, which is why we are so excited to co-lead the company’s $30 million round of new financing. Instead of shoehorning agents into financial systems designed for humans, Catena is building a new category of regulated financial infrastructure purpose-built for autonomous software. The company provides programmable accounts with built-in controls, allowing operators to define how agents transact across payment rails including wires, ACH, and onchain with stablecoins.
