Ant group introduces apass to build trust infrastructure for AI agents

On September 11, 2026, Ant Group unveiled APASS, a trust infrastructure designed to support commercial activities involving AI agents. The platform, launched at the 2026 Inclusion · Bund AI Payment Forum, focuses on establishing trust through identity and behavior verification, addressing questions about an agent's authorization and reliability. APASS offers capabilities such as identity registration, continuous verification, and trusted evidence, aiming to provide a foundation for agents to engage in business and payments. Chen Shupeng, Ant Group's AI payment security officer, emphasized that agents are becoming 'new participants' in the business world, requiring trust verification beyond traditional human-centric systems. He noted that APASS helps confirm an agent's identity, representation, and authorization, while providing traceability evidence in case of disputes. The platform supports over 1 million agents, with 110,000 activated, and has garnered support from more than 50 institutions, including Alibaba, Ant Group, and Visa, to build a trust ecosystem for AI agents.