Visa, Lianlian complete first live B2B AI agent transaction in Greater China

Visa and Lianlian DigiTech announced the completion of the first live B2B agentic transaction in Greater China using LoopXPay, Lianlian's AI agent platform. In the transaction, the LoopXPay agent was tasked with sourcing a product sample from a supplier and completing the purchase. Rather than requiring multiple manual steps, the agent autonomously identified the purchasing requirement, recommended suitable suppliers, compared options, placed the order, and securely executed payment—all within a single workflow. Critically, the agent operated within pre-defined spending controls and approval parameters, ensuring that businesses retained oversight of purchasing decisions.

The milestone addresses a real operational challenge for SMBs. Small and medium-sized businesses often lack dedicated procurement teams and spend considerable time on sourcing, purchasing, and payment activities. By enabling AI agents to handle these workflows autonomously while maintaining controls, businesses can reduce manual effort and redirect resources toward growth. Darren Parslow, Global Head of Visa Commercial Solutions, emphasized this benefit: "For SMBs, that means less complexity in managing day-to-day commercial activities and more time focused on growth."

A key element of the collaboration is LoopXPay's registration in Visa's Agentic Directory. This directory serves as a registry of verified AI agents and implements Visa's Trusted Agent Protocol, which provides identity verification, transparency into agent-driven interactions, and confirmation that participating agents meet Visa's requirements. As AI agents become more involved in purchasing and payment activities, businesses require confidence that transactions are being executed by verified participants within approved parameters—a concern the Agentic Directory directly addresses.

Lianlian brings deep expertise in AI-native financial infrastructure. As of the announcement, Lianlian holds a global licensing portfolio comprising 68 payment licenses and related qualifications, supports services in more than 200 countries and regions, enables transaction settlement in over 140 currencies, and has connected over 180 global e-commerce platforms. Zhang Zhengyu, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Lianlian DigiTech, framed the collaboration as part of a broader vision: "AI is reshaping the entire commercial value chain, where a growing number of business activities will be autonomously executed by AI agents, with payments serving as the critical infrastructure connecting them to global commerce."

Looking forward, Visa and Lianlian are exploring how AI agents can support a broader range of commercial activities beyond product sourcing, including procurement, digital advertising optimization, and B2B platform payments. The goal is to advance what the companies call "trusted commerce" through greater efficiency, transparency, and control, positioning AI-driven commerce as a next era in which businesses can transact with confidence.

The announcement marks a milestone in the emerging "Agent Economy"—an ecosystem in which AI agents autonomously execute business activities and transactions. For SMBs, which often operate without dedicated procurement teams, this represents a concrete demonstration of how AI can reduce manual effort in day-to-day commercial operations. The transaction showcases a fully autonomous workflow: the agent not only executed the purchase but also evaluated suppliers and maintained compliance with spending controls, addressing a key concern in agent-driven commerce.

Visa's role centers on establishing trust infrastructure. The Agentic Directory serves as a verification mechanism, allowing businesses to identify agents that meet defined security and transparency standards. This addresses a critical gap: as AI agents take on more financial responsibility, businesses need assurance that transactions are executed by verified participants within approved parameters. Lianlian, positioned as an "AI-native" financial infrastructure provider, contributes its compliance expertise and global payment capabilities—spanning identity verification, transaction authorization, and cross-border settlement across more than 200 countries and regions. The collaboration thus combines Visa's commercial network reputation with Lianlian's technical depth in AI-native payments infrastructure.

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