Anima vs Proxy.ai: Open Protocols vs Proprietary Intents

Infrastructure for Agent Identity#

Building agents that can transact in the real world requires more than just a LLM and a tool-calling loop. It requires a stable, verifiable identity that legacy systems can recognize. Proxy.ai and Anima both provide financial infrastructure for agents, but they take fundamentally different approaches to how that identity is constructed and used.

Financial Rails and Protocol Support#

Proxy.ai focuses on virtual cards and banking primitives like ACH and Fedwire. While this is useful for business-to-business transactions, their system is built on a proprietary intent-based policy engine. This means your agent's actions are translated through a black box that determines if a transaction fits a predefined "intent."

Anima treats financial capability as one facet of a unified identity. We prioritize open, industry-standard protocols that are becoming the baseline for agent-to-human and agent-to-merchant interaction in 2026.

• Visa TAP (Transaction Authorization Protocol): Anima fully implements TAP, allowing for fine-grained, protocol-level control over every swipe.
• Google AP2: We support the latest Agent Protocol for seamless integration with Google's ecosystem.
• Mastercard VI (Verified Identity): Native support for Mastercard's identity-linked transaction framework.

Beyond the Wallet#

The biggest differentiator is the depth of the identity. Proxy.ai provides a bank account, but an agent often needs more than money to complete a task. It needs to receive 2FA codes, store merchant passwords, and correspond with support teams via email.

Anima provides a complete identity stack:

1. Deterministic Email: Dedicated MX/SMTP infrastructure for every agent.
2. Phone & Voice: Real numbers for SMS verification and automated voice interactions.
3. Identity Vault: Secure, encrypted storage for merchant credentials, API keys, and PII.

Code Comparison: Provisioning a Card#

Using the Anima SDK, you can provision a card as part of a larger identity workflow.

import { Anima } from '@anima/sdk';
 
const am = new Anima(process.env.AM_API_KEY);
 
const agent = await am.identities.create({
  name: "Procurement-Agent-01",
  capabilities: ['cards', 'email', 'phone']
});
 
const card = await agent.cards.issue({
  type: 'virtual',
  limitCents: 50000,
  protocol: 'VISA_TAP',
  policy: {
    allowedMerchants: ['amazon.com', 'cdw.com'],
    expiresAt: '2026-03-01'
  }
});

Proxy.ai's proprietary approach often requires mapping specific LLM outputs to their internal intent objects. Anima gives you direct access to the underlying protocols, ensuring your agent works everywhere standard identity and payment rails exist.

Summary of Differences#

If you need a bank account for an agent, Proxy.ai is a solid choice. If you need a comprehensive identity that includes communication, security, and protocol-compliant payments, Anima is the standard.