HSBC and Ant Digital have an AI agent find a service and pay for it on its own, using tokenized bank deposits

HSBC and Ant Digital Technologies have tested a payment handled from start to finish by software. In a trial announced in Hong Kong on Friday, an AI agent acting for a user found a digital service, used it and paid for it with a micropayment that settled in real time, the two companies said.

The money moved as tokenized deposits, bank deposits recorded as tokens on a blockchain, through HSBC's Tokenised Deposit Service. Ant Digital's Anvita Flow let the agent discover and call the service and managed the settlement. HSBC supplied settlement and real-time risk checks. The test ran on Jovay Testnet, a layer 2 test network, not on a live blockchain.

The companies describe a micropayment as often less than $2. They gave no figures for how many payments were made, how fast they settled or what they cost.

The test shows a bank deposit, not a stablecoin, being used for the small automatic payments that AI agents are expected to make.

Zhuoqun Bian, president of blockchain business at Ant Digital Technologies, said the test "demonstrates the potential use of on-chain AI agents." Lewis Sun, HSBC's global head of digital currencies, said the bank is exploring how new use cases and collaboration could improve the customer experience.

Both sides were clear about the limits. This was a technical verification, not a commercial launch or a live customer offering, and the announcement gave no date for a real service.