HSBC and Ant Digital have tested a system that lets AI agents use tokenized bank deposits to access digital services and make micropayments, with transactions settled in real time on a blockchain test network. The trial combined HSBC’s tokenized deposit service, Ant Digital’s Anvita Flow network, and the layer-2 blockchain testing environment Jovay Testnet. In the demonstration, an AI agent selected a digital service and completed payment, with micropayments described as transactions typically below $2. HSBC handled settlement and real-time risk checks, while Ant Digital’s network coordinated service access and payment flows. The companies said the exercise was limited to technical validation and does not represent a commercial launch or a live customer-facing service. The test comes as more banks explore AI agents initiating financial transactions on behalf of clients, including recent trials by Santander, Sygnum, and CaixaBank. Separately, Augustus Bank CEO Ferdinand Dabitz said legacy clearing banks still rely on systems designed decades ago for manual operations, making them hard to adapt to automated, around-the-clock transaction demands.
HSBC and Ant Digital have tested a system that allows AI agents to use tokenized bank deposits to access digital services and complete micropayments, with transactions settled in real time on a blockchain test network.
The test combined HSBC’s tokenized deposit service, Ant Digital’s Anvita Flow network, and the layer-2 blockchain testing environment Jovay Testnet. HSBC provided settlement capabilities and real-time risk checks. Ant Digital’s network coordinated service access and payment execution.
In the demonstration, an AI agent selected a digital service and completed a payment. The two companies described these transactions as micropayments, which are typically defined as being below $2.
Both companies said the test was limited to technical validation and does not represent a commercial release or an actual customer-facing service.
Several banks are already testing financial transactions initiated by AI agents on behalf of customers.
In March, Spain’s Banco Santander completed an AI-agent-initiated payment in a controlled test using Mastercard’s Agent Pay infrastructure, involving the bank’s real-time payment system.
In May, Swiss digital asset bank Sygnum tested AI-agent-driven transactions on a blockchain mainnet, with customers required to approve and sign each transaction.
Spain’s CaixaBank also used Visa Intelligent Commerce with its existing merchant payment system to complete card transactions initiated by AI agents.
Still, Augustus Bank CEO Ferdinand Dabitz said traditional clearing banks rely on systems designed decades ago for manual operations, making them difficult to adapt to automated, 24/7 transaction demands.
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