UCP solves the N-to-N integration problem in commerce by providing a single open standard that enables AI platforms, businesses, and payment providers to interoperate without custom integrations. Built on REST, JSON-RPC, MCP, and A2A protocols, UCP standardizes checkout, order management, and payment processing APIs.
The protocol uses a capability-based architecture where businesses publish their supported features at `/.well-known/ucp`, and platforms negotiate capabilities automatically during request/response flows. Core capabilities include checkout sessions (`dev.ucp.shopping.checkout`), order lifecycle management (`dev.ucp.shopping.order`), and OAuth 2.0-based identity linking.
Co-developed by Google, Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, Target, and Walmart, with support from 60+ organizations including Stripe, PayPal, and Visa. Transport-agnostic design supports REST APIs, MCP for LLM integration, and A2A for agent-to-agent communication.
The article covers architecture, core capabilities, extensions, payment architecture, and integration patterns. Includes code examples and implementation details.
