Ant Group Digital Technology and HSBC complete Agent "micro-payment" verification, enabling banks to access real-time authentication in the payment process
On October 9, Ant Digital Technologies and HSBC completed a technical validation of AI agent micropayment technology in Hong Kong. The test demonstrated a process in which an AI agent discovers and accesses digital services, initiates payment, and then undergoes real-time risk verification and settlement by HSBC.
Micropayments usually refer to small transactions of less than $2, but the specific payment amount for this test was not disclosed.
It is reported that the test used HSBC's tokenized deposit service, Ant Digital Technologies' Anvita Flow network, and the Jovay testnet, and remains at the technology exploration stage.
Bian Zhuoqun, President of Blockchain Business at Ant Digital Technologies, stated that this technical validation with HSBC showcased the potential uses of on-chain AI agents, and Ant Digital Technologies will continue to explore the application of autonomous agents in real-world business scenarios.
Lewis Sun, Global Head of Digital Currencies at HSBC, said that HSBC aims to enhance customer experience and reduce transaction friction through its tokenized deposit service and new application partnerships, while focusing on customer needs, appropriate controls, and responsible development.
There are already protocols and transaction activities for small-value payments between machines.
As of April this year, the x402 protocol had an adjusted cumulative transaction amount of about $15 million, involving approximately 109.6 million transactions. In addition, the Machine Payments Protocol launched by Stripe and Tempo completed settlements of about $25,000 a few weeks after going live.
These efforts reflect a new type of demand: software making payments to other software for a single API call or a small amount of computing power. The smaller and more frequent the transaction, the more automation is required for handling fees, reconciliation, and risk assessment.
The specific incremental advancement in this validation by Ant Digital Technologies and HSBC is allowing agents to autonomously complete service calls and payments on behalf of users or enterprises, and integrating the bank's real-time risk verification into the same process.
This differs from the aforementioned protocol for pure machine-to-machine transactions. According to HSBC, its tokenized deposit service can represent corporate deposits as on-chain digital certificates (at a 1:1 ratio to deposit accounts), supporting 24/7 near real-time transfers within the HSBC network. This service has already been launched in Hong Kong, Singapore, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates.
This test integrated service invocation and bank settlement into the same technical process. Whether it will lead to practical applications will depend on how digital service providers are integrated, transaction costs, and the development of agent authorization rules.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
US Stock Market Movement | US clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Retension Pharmaceuticals (RTSN.US) debuts on the US stock market; shares fall over 10% after opening
As of press time, the stock has dropped more than 10%, trading at $10.77.
U.S. Stocks Move | Trex Bio (TRXB.US) Debuts on the U.S. Stock Market, Drops Over 1.3% After Opening
As of press time, the stock has fallen by over 1.3%, trading at $13.805.
BUZZ - Broker Perspectives: Analysts Express Doubts Over Starbucks and Chipotle Acquisition
Latest Update October 9 – The Financial Times reported on Thursday that Starbucks (SBUX.O) has explored a potential acquisition of Chipotle (CMG.N). This move would bring CEO Brian Niccol back to the Mexican burrito chain he once led. Starbucks declined to comment, saying the company remains "fully focused" on its business turnaround. Chipotle's stock fell about 4% to $31.32 on Friday, after surging 6.2% in the previous trading session. Limited strategic rationale BTIG expressed "high skepticism," stating that the deal does not make sense operationally, would cause significant dilution for Starbucks shareholders, and would disrupt management operations. "Over the years we've heard many stories about multi-brand acquisitions... but few have materialized, and even fewer have succeeded," BTIG noted. William Blair pointed out that Starbucks’ $9.4 billion net debt as of June makes it difficult to finance an acquisition and could push the combined company’s leverage ratio to about six times—considered high for the restaurant industry. D.A. Davidson stated the probability of the deal succeeding is 20% or less, given the significant differences between the brands and the apparent lack of clear synergies. Raymond James noted that due to the low overlap in menus, supply chain benefits are likely limited, while performance among multi-brand restaurant platforms has been mixed. eMarketer’s Suzy Davidkhanian commented that Niccol's familiarity may reduce execution risk, but investors might still see the deal as a "costly distraction" during Starbucks’ transformation. (For the convenience of non-English speakers, Reuters automatically translates its reports into several other languages. Automated translation may be inaccurate or fail to include necessary context; Reuters does not guarantee the accuracy of automated translated text and provides it solely for readers’ convenience. Reuters accepts no responsibility for any damage or loss resulting from the use of automated translation functions.)
BUZZ - UBS raises its target price for Biogen due to the catalyst in its late-stage R&D pipeline; stock price rises
October 9 - ** Shares of pharmaceutical company Biogen (BIIB.O) rose 2.4% to $223.71 ** UBS raised its price target from $240 to $270 and reiterated a "Buy" rating ** Third-quarter revenue is expected to reach $2.69 billion, with earnings per share (EPS) at $2.11, both slightly above market consensus ** Third-quarter sales of Alzheimer's drug Leqembi are predicted to be $200 million, in line with market expectations, and the recently launched subcutaneous formulation is projected to become a key growth driver starting in 2027 ** Biogen is now more optimistic about ophthalmology drug Syfovre than it was at the time of acquiring Apellis (link), and is optimizing its commercialization strategy ** Late-stage clinical data for lupus drug litifilimab due later this year and data on cutaneous lupus erythematosus expected in the first half of 2027 are seen as key catalysts ** Furthermore, late-stage clinical results for kidney drug felzartamab, expected in the first half of 2027, are anticipated to provide further upside, and clinical trials by Eli Lilly (LLY.N) for presymptomatic Alzheimer's may produce positive spillover effects ** Including intraday fluctuations, the stock is up 26.3% year-to-date.
Crypto prices
More
