Ant Group chairman highlights AI payment solutions for SMEs

Eric Jing, chairman of Ant Group, said the company’s focus is on putting new AI-powered payment and operational tools in the hands of SMEs during a panel at the Singapore FinTech Festival on November 14.

Ant International, a Singapore-based payments and digitisation firm, is working on AI applications that act as virtual CFOs and COOs, aiming to help small businesses navigate complex payment and risk environments.

Jing said Antom, the company’s merchant services arm, has introduced AI tools such as Antom Copilot to streamline payment integration and risk management for merchants.

During the event, Antom launched EPOS360, an app that combines point-of-sale, payments, banking, lending, and growth support for micro, small, and medium-sized businesses.

Jing also highlighted Ant International’s collaboration with the Monetary Authority of Singapore on blockchain and AI projects, including pilots in tokenised money and cross-border settlements.

He said regulatory sandboxes have helped the company test and improve new technologies before wider rollout.

🔗 Source: Ant International

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

MAS tokenisation pilots create entry points for competitive fintechs

Project Guardian, run by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, includes Ant Group 3. It invites custodians and fund managers. Banks and market infrastructure firms can join, not only incumbents.
The sandbox spans borders, currencies, and products 3. It covers tokenized funds, bonds, stablecoins (crypto tokens pegged to stable assets), and bank liabilities. This opens doors for payment processors and fintech platforms.
MAS runs the Global-Asia Digital Bond Grant Scheme for digital bond issuance in Singapore 3. The funding can help small fintechs offset build costs for interoperable tokenisation.
Fintechs focused on micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises can look at the fixed income workstream in Project Guardian 4. Services built around tokenized assets can reach same merchants without direct competition.