Visa and Lianlian DigiTech have completed a live business-to-business transaction using an AI agent to automate product sourcing, purchasing and payment.

The companies said the transaction used Lianlian’s LoopXPay AI agent to source a product sample from a supplier and complete the purchase in a single workflow.

The demonstration shows how SMBs can streamline procurement while maintaining spending controls and oversight.

LoopXPay identified the purchasing requirement, recommended suitable suppliers, compared options and placed the order. It then executed the payment within predefined spending limits and approval parameters.

The workflow was designed to reduce manual effort without removing visibility into commercial decision-making.

Building trust in AI-driven payments

Businesses need to verify that AI agents execute payments within approved controls.

To support this, Visa has registered LoopXPay in its Agentic Directory, which enables participating businesses and merchants to identify verified AI agents.

The directory supports Visa’s Trusted Agent Protocol by providing identity verification, transparency and governance for agent-driven transactions.

“AI-powered commerce experiences can help businesses simplify purchasing and payments while maintaining the controls and oversight they require,”

said Darren Parslow, Global Head of Visa Commercial Solutions.

Visa and Lianlian also plan to explore additional applications for AI agents. These include procurement, digital advertising optimisation and B2B platform payments.

Lianlian Founder, Chairman and CEO Zhang Zhengyu said AI is reshaping commercial activities. He added that payments will serve as the infrastructure connecting AI agents to global commerce.

“AI is reshaping the entire commercial value chain, where a growing number of business activities will be autonomously executed by AI agents.”

Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Hong Kong, based on image by Visa