Alipay Touts World’s First Smart Glasses Embedded Payment Transaction

Payments platform Alipay says it has made the world’s first-ever smart glasses-embedded e-wallet payment.

The company, part of China’s Ant Group, announced the transaction Thursday (June 19), noting it was conducted in partnership with electronics firm Meizu.

“Users are able to make seamless payments with QR scans or voice commands from their smart glasses, backed by Alipay+’s AI-powered voice interface, intent recognition, and voiceprint authentication technologies,” Alipay said in a news release.

The company added that this new feature will be introduced to Alipay+ partner e-wallets this year upon the integration of the Alipay+ upgraded tech suite for smart glasses.

The news follows Meizu’s announcement in April that it was working on an offline artificial intelligence (AI) glasses-enabled mobile payment function with Alipay+. Now. Alipay+’s payment SDK solutions are being integrated into all new Meizu smart glasses.

“The offline payment function of smart glasses launched overseas by Meizu and Alipay+ has set a new technological benchmark for the industry,” said Peng Guo, general manager of the XR Division of Meizu. “The innovation in the payment scenario has enhanced the practicality and appeal of smart glasses and also promoted the progress and development of the AR [augmented reality] glasses industry.”

PYMNTS wrote earlier this year about the way AI is driving a boom in the smart glasses field, as companies such as Meta, Google, Amazon and Samsung all bank on AI becoming part of their next wearable device.

AI makes smart glasses “more intuitive and practical for everyday use, whether you’re streaming, gaming or navigating the world around you,” David Jiang, a former Google executive and CEO of smart glass company Viture, said in an interview with PYMNTS.

But aside from entertainment, the embedded AI functions like a personal assistant that anticipates user needs, streamlines daily tasks and carries out activities such as ordering food or hailing a ride.

Research by PYMNTS Intelligence shows that people, younger generations especially, often use connected devices to multitask.

“Smart glasses provide hands-free connectivity to users, who can use the embedded AI assistant to do online searches, take photos or videos, read and write text messages, and translate foreign languages in real time, among other capabilities,” PYMNTS wrote.

That versatility is critical. Jiang said his time at Google offered him a firsthand look at why Google Glass didn’t take off.

“People didn’t have a reason to wear it every day,” he said, noting that today is different. “5G is here. Cloud gaming is mainstream. Streaming services are everywhere. Consumers want a better way to experience content without being tethered to a small screen.”