The landscape of digital finance has reached a significant milestone this week as Alipay announced that its “AI Pay” solution, a pioneer in agentic-powered payments, has processed over 120 million transactions in a single seven-day period. This surge in activity, reported on 13 February 2026, signals a definitive shift in Chinese consumer behaviour toward autonomous, intelligent commerce.
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The Rise of Agentic Commerce
Launched in 2025, AI Pay represents the next frontier of fintech: a system where AI agents, rather than human users, facilitate and authorise financial exchanges. Unlike traditional mobile payments that require manual input or biometric scans for every micro-transaction, AI Pay integrates directly into the logic of digital assistants and smart hardware.
The technology is currently being utilised across a diverse array of platforms, from high-street retail “mini-programs” to cutting-edge wearable tech. Notable early adopters include the coffee giant Luckin Coffee and the augmented reality specialist Rokid. For a consumer using Rokid’s AI smart glasses, for instance, the payment process is handled natively by the device’s onboard agent, allowing for a frictionless “hands-free” purchasing experience.
Strategic Partnerships and Protocols
The rapid scaling of AI Pay is the result of a concerted effort by Alipay to build a robust ecosystem for autonomous commerce. Key developments over the past few months have laid the groundwork for this 120-million-transaction milestone:
Integration with Rokid (December 2025): Alipay collaborated with Rokid to embed payment capabilities into the AI agents developed on the Lingzhu platform. This allows developers to build specialized agents that can buy digital goods or services on behalf of the user.
The Agentic Commerce Trust Protocol (January 2026): To ensure security in a world where software makes financial decisions, Alipay launched this new protocol alongside industry titans. Partners include Alibaba’s Qwen App and Taobao Instant Commerce, creating a unified standard for verifyng “agent-to-merchant” transactions.
Transaction Volume and Market Adoption
The following table highlights the growth and reach of the AI Pay ecosystem as of early 2026:
| Metric | Detail |
| Weekly Transaction Volume | 120 Million+ |
| Launch Year | 2025 |
| Primary Integration Partners | Luckin Coffee, Rokid, Taobao, Qwen |
| Core Technology | Agentic Commerce Trust Protocol |
| Key Hardware Support | Smart Glasses, IoT Devices, Mobile Mini-programs |
A New Era of Consumer Expectations
In a press statement, Alipay noted that the “AI era” has fundamentally altered what Chinese consumers expect from their digital tools. Convenience is no longer just about a fast app; it is about predictive intelligence.
As these agents become more sophisticated—capable of managing subscriptions, ordering daily essentials, and even negotiating discounts—the underlying payment infrastructure must be both invisible and invincible. With 120 million transactions under its belt in a week, Alipay seems to have convinced the market that its agentic model is the future of the digital wallet.
