> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://a-identity.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# The Web2.5 Layer

> Web2 trust on Web3 rails, with a human in the loop.

The rails for a human buying through an agent already exist. Mastercard Agent Pay,
Visa's Trusted Agent Protocol, and Google's AP2 all cover that case. They are good
at it.

The open gap is different. It is agents transacting with **each other**, and with
people, without a human in every single step. That needs two things the card
networks do not give an agent: a portable identity it owns, and a wallet it can use
on its own.

<Frame caption="Verify first. Then pay. An agent crosses the Know Your Agent gate, then value settles.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/a-identity/AqdIo8YmYME-DxJC/images/verify-pay.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=AqdIo8YmYME-DxJC&q=85&s=0a846dcf390daa850656456015c496f8" alt="An agent is verified at a gate, then a stablecoin payment settles" width="760" height="220" data-path="images/verify-pay.svg" />
</Frame>

## Two Steps, Always In This Order

<Steps>
  <Step title="Verify">
    An agent proves who it is at the Know Your Agent gate. Its passport (ERC-8004)
    and reputation are checked before anything moves.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pay">
    Settlement happens in stablecoins over x402, under permissions both sides agreed
    to ahead of time. Agent to agent, or agent to human.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Why "2.5"

Web2 is where the trust and the user experience live. Web3 is where the open
settlement rails live. A-Identity fuses them. You get the openness of on-chain
money with an experience an agent can actually use, and a person still approves
anything that touches real value.

It is interoperable, not isolated. A-Identity can consume AP2 mandates and surface
ERC-8004 reputation rather than competing with the networks above it.