HSBC, Ant Digital test AI-agent payments using tokenized deposits
The technical trial showed how AI agents could discover services and make micropayments using HSBC’s tokenized deposits, with real-time settlement and risk checks.
British banking giant HSBC and Ant Digital Technologies have tested a system that lets AI agents access digital services and make micropayments using tokenized bank deposits, with transactions settled in real time on a blockchain testnet.
According to Friday’s announcement, the test combined HSBC’s Tokenised Deposit Service with Ant Digital’s Anvita Flow network, which enables AI agents to find and use services, and Jovay Testnet, a layer-2 blockchain testing environment.
HSBC provided settlement capabilities and real-time risk checks, while Ant Digital’s network coordinated service access and payments. The demonstration showed an AI agent selecting a digital service and completing a payment. The companies described the transactions as micropayments, typically defined as less than $2.
The companies said the test was limited to technical verification and did not represent a commercial launch or live customer offering.
Related: Sui tunnels hit 40.6M TPS in live AI agent test
HSBC is among several banks testing how AI agents could initiate financial transactions on customers’ behalf.
In March, Spanish banking giant Santander completed an AI-agent-initiated payment using Mastercard’s Agent Pay infrastructure in a controlled test involving the bank’s live payment systems.
Swiss digital asset bank Sygnum followed in May with a test of AI-agent-driven transactions on a blockchain mainnet, with customers required to approve and sign each transaction. Spanish banking group CaixaBank also completed an AI-agent-initiated card transaction using Visa Intelligent Commerce and existing merchant payment systems.
However, not everyone believes established banks can adapt their existing infrastructure to AI-driven finance. In a May interview with Cointelegraph, Augustus Bank CEO Ferdinand Dabitz argued that traditional clearing banks rely on decades-old systems designed for human operations rather than automated, around-the-clock transactions.
Augustus is developing a US bank built around stablecoins and AI-driven operations, betting that purpose-built infrastructure can replace parts of traditional banking systems.