Hong Kong Begins Testing Identification of AI Agents in Financial Workflows
Hong Kong launches a new testing program to verify AI agents executing financial transactions, while the Shop Pay installment payment option has been expanded to Australia through a partnership between Affirm and Shopify.
Financial regulators in Hong Kong announced the first 36 projects under the expanded GenA.I. Sandbox++ program aimed at verifying the roles and identities of AI agents in financial workflows. As part of this, "Agentic ID" controls designed to enhance the security of AI systems in payment and customer transactions will be tested.
GenA.I. Sandbox++ and AI Experiments
Hong Kong's four major financial regulatory bodies announced the first projects accepted into the expanded GenA.I. Sandbox++ program, which aims to move AI agents beyond policy discussions and integrate them directly into financial workflows. Selected from nearly 100 applications, 36 use cases will be implemented with the participation of 30 financial institutions and 27 technology partners.
Technical trials scheduled to begin later this year will focus on areas such as customer onboarding, payments, insurance claims, and customer interactions. The program will also continue "AI vs. AI" experiments where one AI system dynamically monitors the decisions and actions of another.
Secure Payment Infrastructure with Agentic ID
One of the most notable projects in payments will be conducted in partnership between HKT Payment, the financial services arm of telecommunications firm HKT, and Red Date Technology. The two companies will test an "Agentic ID" framework to register and verify AI agents that initiate payments and wallet top-ups.
Utilizing decentralized identifiers and verifiable credentials, this system will link each AI agent to a verified individual or business. This aims to prevent unauthorized transactions and impersonations, while clearly recording under whose authority transactions are conducted.
Shop Pay Installments Option in Australia
In another fintech development, Affirm and Shopify announced the expansion of Shop Pay Installments to Australia. Previously launched in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, the service will now allow Australian consumers to pay in installments for their purchases.
Eligible Australian shoppers will be able to split their payments into biweekly or monthly installments, choosing between interest-bearing or interest-free payment plans. Australian merchants on Shopify can easily activate this feature through their admin panels.