---
title: "Link gives personal agents a budget to spend, powered by stablecoins on Tempo"
description: "For agents to buy on someone's behalf, they need a way to pay without a person stepping in at checkout. Stripe solves that with Link balances, settled in stablecoins on Tempo."
path: "/customer-stories/link/"
date: "2026-10-27"
label: "Payments"
image: "/cards/customer-stories-link.webp"
---

For agents to buy on someone's behalf, they need a way to pay without a person stepping in at checkout. Stripe solves that with Link balances, settled in stablecoins on Tempo.

## The challenge

Agents can find what people want, but paying still needs a person. A card payment can trigger an issuer approval, so the agent waits. That rules out purchases that can't wait, like tickets when a presale opens or shoes when the price drops.

## Link balances for agents

More than 350 million consumers use Link to check out online. On October 26, 2026, Link [introduced Link balance](https://x.com/link/status/2114799287645393098). People add money and set a limit per purchase. Their agent spends within it without asking each time and never sees their card details.

In [Instinct](https://instinct.com), one message can cover a week: weekday lunches, concert tickets, bills and dinner for four.

![Instinct using a Link balance to buy lunch, concert tickets and dinner over a week](/images/customer-stories/link-instinct-poster.jpg)

## Why Tempo

**Near-instant settlement, 24/7.** Stablecoins on Tempo move at any hour, so purchases go through when the agent acts, not when banks open.

**Sub-cent fees paid in stablecoins.** No separate token to hold, and costs stay predictable from a $16 lunch to $180 tickets.

**Blockspace reserved for payments.** Dedicated payment lanes keep payments moving regardless of other network activity.

## What's next

Link balance is rolling out to Instinct users in eligible US regions, with New York coming soon. Other agents can connect through the open-source [Link CLI](https://github.com/stripe/link-cli).