HSBC and Ant Digital Test AI Agents Paying with Tokenised Deposits

HSBC and Ant Digital have conducted a pilot programme in which AI agents autonomously made payments using tokenised deposits, marking one of the first real-world tests of machine-to-machine payments on a regulated banking rail.

The pilot involved AI agents that were programmed to make payments autonomously based on predefined rules. The payments were settled using tokenised deposits, which represent real bank deposits recorded on a blockchain.

The use case demonstrates the potential for AI agents to participate in commercial transactions without direct human involvement. The agents were able to initiate, verify, and settle payments autonomously, with the blockchain providing an immutable record of each transaction.

HSBC has been active in the tokenised deposits space, viewing blockchain-based settlement as a way to reduce the cost and time of cross-border payments. The bank has previously conducted pilots involving tokenised gold and other assets.

The pilot does not represent a production deployment, but it signals growing interest from major financial institutions in the combination of AI agents and blockchain-based settlement.