Paid MCP becomes an explicit product category

Cloudflare's gateway language now treats Model Context Protocol (MCP) tools as chargeable resources alongside APIs and pages, moving paid MCP from informal discussion into an explicit product category, according to a zFinia retrospective published 7 September 2026. The event is dated 28 July 2026, and zFinia notes that paid MCP is still not a core MCP spec feature. The distinction matters because payment-related MCP spec issues should be watched separately from vendor overlays.

TIER C · monthly brief Paid MCP becomes an explicit product category Cloudflare’s gateway language treated MCP tools as chargeable resources beside APIs and pages. Paid MCP moved from hallway conversation to product marketing. It is still not a core MCP spec feature. Event 28 July 2026 · source 7 September 2026 · zFinia published 7 September 2026 · retrospective Why it matters Watch MCP spec issues that name payment, versus vendor overlays.