What is a merchant of record?

The company that legally sells to the customer: it charges the payment, handles tax and invoices, and is responsible for refunds, chargebacks and the customer contract.

Who is the merchant of record when ChatGPT or Gemini helps a customer buy?

The store. ACP and UCP both keep the merchant as merchant of record; the AI agent helps choose and fills the cart but does not sell.

Does the AI agent see the customer's card number?

Not in ACP or AP2 designs. The merchant receives a scoped payment token or the payment runs through a payment link, so the agent never holds the card number.

Is merchant of record the same as payment provider?

No. The payment provider processes the charge; the merchant of record is the seller the charge is for.

Do agent orders need a different tax setup?

Usually not. They are ordinary orders from the merchant, so the normal tax, invoice and return rules apply. Check with a tax adviser for your markets.

Canonical definition

Merchant of Record – Definition (Agentic Commerce)

The merchant of record is the company that legally sells to the customer. It takes the payment, charges the tax, issues the invoice, and answers for refunds, chargebacks and delivery. In agentic commerce – when an AI agent helps a shopper buy – the store stays the merchant of record. The agent helps; the store sells.

In one sentence

Whoever the customer’s money and contract go to – and in ACP, UCP and MCP checkout, that is the store, not the AI.

What the merchant of record is responsible for

Area	What it means
Payment	Charges the customer through its own payment provider; its name is on the card statement
Tax	Charges and pays VAT or sales tax; issues the invoice
Refunds and disputes	Handles returns, refunds and chargebacks
Fulfilment	Ships the order, or makes sure it is shipped
Customer data	Controls the order and customer record
Consumer law	Is the seller the customer has the contract with

In agentic commerce, the merchant stays the merchant of record

The protocols that let AI agents buy all keep the store in this role. The agent helps the shopper choose and fills the cart; the store sells.

Protocol	Who is merchant of record
ACP (OpenAI, Stripe)	The merchant. The agent never holds the card number; the merchant charges through its own provider.
UCP (Google and partners)	The business. The agent calls the capabilities the business publishes.
AP2	Not a sales protocol: it proves the shopper authorized the payment. The seller is still the merchant.
MCP checkout	The store. The order is a normal store order; payment runs through the store’s gateway or a payment link.

Why this matters for a store

Agent orders are your orders. Your tax setup, return policy, fraud checks and customer service apply to them as to any other order. It also means the data the agent reads – prices, stock, shipping and returns – is a promise you make as the seller. Keep it accurate.

When someone else is the merchant of record

Some models put another company in the seller role: a marketplace that sells in its own name, or a reseller service that sells your product to the customer and pays you. Then that company handles tax, refunds and the customer contract. None of the agentic commerce protocols above work that way by default.

This page explains a commerce term. It is not legal or tax advice.

Questions

What is a merchant of record?: The company that legally sells to the customer: it charges the payment, handles tax and invoices, and is responsible for refunds, chargebacks and the customer contract.
Who is the merchant of record when ChatGPT or Gemini helps a customer buy?: The store. ACP and UCP both keep the merchant as merchant of record; the AI agent helps choose and fills the cart but does not sell.
Does the AI agent see the customer’s card number?: Not in ACP or AP2 designs. The merchant receives a scoped payment token or the payment runs through a payment link, so the agent never holds the card number.
Is merchant of record the same as payment provider?: No. The payment provider processes the charge; the merchant of record is the seller the charge is for.
Do agent orders need a different tax setup?: Usually not. They are ordinary orders from the merchant, so the normal tax, invoice and return rules apply. Check with a tax adviser for your markets.

Sources

Checked 24 September 2026 against the ACP, UCP and AP2 specification repositories. Not legal or tax advice. Disclosure: we build the MCP checkout module referenced above.