Alipay has announced that it has successfully conducted its first e-wallet transaction to use augmented reality smart glasses and is to roll out support for the technology to its 36 digital wallet partners around the world this year.

The successful first transaction was conducted in Hong Kong using a pair of Meizu StarV Snap smart glasses linked to the AlipayHK mobile payment app.

Augmented reality payments will also go live in China this month, via a partnership with smart glasses maker Rokid.

“Alipay+’s advanced payment SDK solutions are integrated into all new Meizu smart glasses, supported by Meizu’s industry-leading optical waveguide display technology, voice noise reduction and capture technology, and camera-based code scanning technology,” Alipay says.

“The new feature expands use case scenarios for the AR glasses industry leader, and creates new growth avenues for e-wallets and merchants.”

In China, consumers will be able to make a payment with their Rokid smart glasses by first linking their Alipay account via the Rokid app and enabling voice verification.

In stores, they will then instruct their glasses to initiate a payment for a particular amount by simply saying, for example, “Rokid, pay 10 RMB”. The glasses will then scan the merchant’s Alipay QR code and the user will be prompted to confirm the transaction by voice, with payment details shown on the display.

More than 250,000 units of the new Rokid Glasses have been pre-ordered and are due to begin shipping this month.

Seamless and intuitive

As well as the advantage of offering hands-free payments, transactions with smart glasses complete in seconds versus the 20-30 seconds needed for phone-based QR payments, Alipay and Rokid say.

“The integration of payments into AR glasses supports a future of seamless, intuitive commerce — enabling instant, gesture-based transactions, immersive product discovery, and new ways for businesses to engage customers,” they add.

It also “points to a future of more seamless and intuitive commerce”.

“In the coming years, this technology could enable people to complete transactions simply by looking at or gesturing toward a product, removing friction from both physical and digital shopping.

“It may support interactive product discovery — letting users access real-time information, virtual try-ons, or personalized recommendations — and make it possible to pay instantly without reaching for a phone or wallet. For businesses, this opens up new ways to engage customers through immersive experiences and location-specific offers.”

“The new feature will roll out to Alipay+ global partner e-wallets in 2025 upon the integration of Alipay+ upgraded tech suite for smart glasses,” Alipay reports.

Offline payments

“The offline payment function of smart glasses launched overseas by Meizu and Alipay+ has set a new technological benchmark for the industry,” Meizu’s Peng Guo says.

“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 glasses industry. We hope this function will bring more convenient experiences to users.”

“Equipping Rokid Glasses with payment capabilities brings users a smoother and more intuitive experience, while also ushering the AI glasses industry into the era of payment,” Rokid founder Zhu Mingming says.

“By unlocking payment capabilities, smart glasses will rapidly transform into the next-gen personal device like the mobile phone,” Jiangming Yang, Ant International’s chief innovation officer adds.

“We look forward to supporting more industry partners with one integration into Alipay+‘s premium wallet ecosystem across global markets, to help them build broader user scenarios and achieve growth.”

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