Ant International Launched Bank Accounts for AI Agents
The new account and protocol enable autonomous machine-to-machine payments, addressing a gap in existing financial controls.
Updated on Sept. 18, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence
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Ant International has launched dedicated AI agent accounts within its WorldFirst brand, featuring smart contract controls and a payment protocol capable of settling transactions as small as $0.000001. The infrastructure aims to support the growing reliance on AI-driven financial tasks, which now assist over 81% of payment operations for Antom merchants.
Why it matters
Current financial systems were not designed for agents operating between users and capital, necessitating new protocols for autonomous transaction security. This development scales machine-to-machine commerce by formalizing the oversight of AI-led financial interactions.
The Agentic Mobile Protocol supports granular transactions as low as $0.000001, while the AgentSafePay feature provides a 100% guarantee against losses specific to agent transactions. These tools support a merchant network of 150 million users and 2 billion consumer accounts.
The players
Ant International
A digital payment provider focusing on cross-border financial services and AI-driven infrastructure.
Monetary Authority of Singapore
The central bank and financial regulator that convenes industry platforms for digital payment standardization.
Visa
A global payment technology company currently collaborating on interoperability frameworks for machine identity.
Mastercard
A global financial network partner working to define standards for agent-based transaction security.
The details
The system utilizes smart contracts—self-executing code where terms are written into lines of code—to enforce transaction limits and provide live monitoring of autonomous spending. Users maintain oversight by authorizing specific tasks for their agents, which then operate within the Agentic Mobile Protocol to clear payments across various platforms. The framework is designed to bridge the gap between human authorization and high-frequency, low-value machine execution.
Timeline
In 2025, the WhaleRTP platform processed 45% of total cross-border volume.
March 2026 saw the introduction of an open standard for machine payments by Tempo.
July 2026 marked the World Economic Forum report on the failure of current controls to monitor agent activity.
September 10, 2026, was the date Ant and major card networks discussed an interoperability framework.
September 18, 2026, was the official launch date for the new AI agent accounts.
The Tech Race
This development represents a shift toward formalizing agent-to-agent financial infrastructure, contrasting with the fragmented experimental efforts seen earlier in 2026. By integrating with global card networks, Ant seeks to move machine payments from isolated proprietary environments to a standardized industry model.
Merchants using Antom services can now utilize AI-assisted payments with an explicit fund guarantee, reducing the risk of autonomous transaction errors. Users must still authorize individual agent tasks, retaining human control while benefiting from automated settlement speeds.
The takeaway
The move marks the transition of AI agents from experimental tools to financially accountable participants in the global economy. Watch for the forthcoming interoperability framework from Ant, Visa, and Mastercard, which will determine the ease of cross-network agent transactions.
Further reading
For broader trends in machine autonomy, see Artificial Intelligence.
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