FDC3
An open standard for interoperability between financial desktop applications — shared context objects, intents, an app directory, and a channel model, so that selecting an instrument in one application propagates to others.
Why it matters for autonomous finance
FDC3 solved, for human desktops, the problem agent protocols are now solving for machines: how independently built applications share meaning without a central owner. Its context data specification is a working financial ontology that already has industry adoption — which makes it a far better starting point for agent context modelling than inventing a schema, and almost nobody in the agent space has looked at it.
What it does not cover
Desktop-scoped and human-mediated by design. It assumes a person is the integration point between applications, and carries no authority, audit or accountability semantics. Useful as a vocabulary; not a governance standard.
No provisions for autonomous action, oversight, or accountability. Every entry in this register carries this section. A standard read past its scope is worse than no standard, because it produces confidence without coverage.