Ant International, a global leader in digital payments, digitisation, and financial technology, has achieved a groundbreaking milestone by introducing iris authentication to Alipay+ GlassPay — its AR glasses-embedded payment solution. Developed in collaboration with leading smart glasses manufacturers like Xiaomi and Meizu, this innovation represents a major leap forward in secure, seamless, and immersive payment experiences.
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Alipay+ GlassPay already integrates multiple biometric verification methods, such as an AI-powered voice interface with intent recognition and voiceprint authentication. With the addition of iris authentication, successfully tested on AlipayHK, Ant International has taken a significant step toward redefining how users interact with digital payments through augmented reality. By merging AI and AR technologies, users can now experience a truly effortless and secure transaction process—just a glance is enough to complete a payment.
The growing adoption of smart glasses is reshaping the way consumers engage with digital commerce. These devices are quickly becoming a bridge between physical and virtual shopping, offering features like instant product try-ons, interactive browsing, and easy checkouts anywhere. Industry projections estimate that global consumer adoption of smart glasses will grow nearly sevenfold between 2024 and 2029, reaching close to 18.7 million units.
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Iris authentication has become increasingly popular worldwide because it offers superior security compared to facial or fingerprint recognition. It’s nearly impossible to spoof, given that it analyzes over 260 unique biometric feature points—far more than other methods. Alipay+ GlassPay’s iris verification system uses advanced imaging algorithms and AI-driven liveness detection to identify real users and block fraud attempts, even under different lighting conditions. This provides users with zero-contact, highly reliable security that works anytime, anywhere.
Ant International has also built a comprehensive data protection framework around this technology. Its end-to-end security suite for e-wallets and apps includes personal encryption key schemes to safeguard user information. The company collaborates closely with device manufacturers, service providers, and regulators to ensure full compliance with data protection laws in each market.
At the heart of Alipay+ GlassPay’s security infrastructure is Ant’s gPass — the world’s first trusted connection technology framework for smart glasses. gPass enables manufacturers and developers to build secure AI-driven services and expand AR’s capabilities for both consumers and businesses. As AI and AR become more deeply integrated into everyday life, gPass aims to ensure global users enjoy safer and more convenient digital experiences.
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For merchants and service providers, Alipay+ GlassPay presents new opportunities to engage customers and streamline operations. Smart glasses equipped with this payment feature can enable customers to move effortlessly from in-person interactions to instant online purchases, reducing logistics costs and improving omnichannel management. For instance, a user could try on an item in a store and complete the purchase instantly through a secure glance-based payment, without needing to visit a checkout counter.
Ant International plans to roll out the enhanced Alipay+ GlassPay solution to manufacturers, developers, and service providers across the Asia-Pacific region. Currently, Alipay+ connects over 1.8 billion users through 40 mobile payment providers and 100 million merchants in more than 100 markets. Its expanding ecosystem now supports QR-based and card payments via a global NFC solution, alongside AI-powered features such as agentic payments through the Alipay+ GenAI Cockpit platform.
At the 2025 Singapore Fintech Festival, Peng Yang, CEO of Ant International, emphasized that payments remain the foundation of all financial services. He highlighted the company’s focus on driving innovation across various fronts — from AI merchant payment orchestration and card interoperability to hardware-embedded solutions — all aimed at delivering seamless, secure, and real-time global transactions.
Jiang-Ming Yang, Chief Innovation Officer at Ant International, expressed excitement about collaborating with hardware innovators to expand the horizons of AR commerce. Xiaomi’s Vice President Zhang Lei also noted that smart glasses are a key element of Xiaomi’s AI terminal strategy, aimed at enriching the AI-driven lifestyle experience. Meanwhile, Guo Peng, Head of XR at Xingji Meizu, underlined the importance of balancing innovation with security, stating that as technology becomes more invisible in daily life, protecting users’ biometric data becomes even more essential.
The introduction of iris authentication in Alipay+ GlassPay marks a defining moment in the evolution of digital payments. It showcases how AI, AR, and biometric technology can come together to create a payment experience that is not only futuristic and convenient but also built on a foundation of trust and security.
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