Ant International has launched AI SHIELD, a toolkit designed to address risks and vulnerabilities in AI systems used in financial services.
The initiative reflects the company’s focus on security and compliance as AI adoption increases across global finance.
AI is already integrated across Ant International’s payment operations, which processed over US$1 trillion in global transactions in 2024.
The company said AI SHIELD will help financial institutions reduce risks such as bias, security flaws, and misuse of AI agents.
Research cited by Ant International estimates that AI-related incidents could lead to annual costs of up to US$57 billion, while only 5% of organisations report high confidence in their AI security measures despite widespread use of large language models.
At the centre of AI SHIELD is the AI Security Docker, which applies security measures throughout the development and deployment of AI models.
It is intended to ensure that AI systems used in fraud detection, payment authorisation, and chatbots remain reliable and compliant.
The framework incorporates agent trustworthiness authentication, where AI agents are evaluated and tested before deployment on its Alipay+ GenAI Cockpit platform; an AI service safeguard, which continuously monitors agent interactions to block threats in real time; and dynamic patrolling with red teaming, which subjects systems to ongoing inspection and adversarial testing to identify and resolve vulnerabilities.
Ant International and its partners provide services to over 100 million merchants and 1.8 billion user accounts worldwide through platforms such as Alipay+, Antom, Bettr, and WorldFirst.
AI SHIELD will be applied to strengthen risk management across these services, including protection against scams, fraud, and deepfake attacks.
One example is Alipay+ EasySafePay 360, launched in September 2025, which the company said can reduce account takeover incidents in digital wallet payments by 90%.
The company has also introduced initiatives such as the Digital Wallet Guardian Partnership with AlipayHK and Malaysia’s TNG eWallet to bolster security in cross-border wallet transactions.
“Trusted AI could be a defining factor in unlocking the full potential of artificial intelligence in financial services. At Ant International, we are committed to working with industry partners to evolve the most advanced risk management framework for AI, while harnessing AI itself to strengthen our risk management capabilities. We believe a two-pronged approach is essential for driving responsible growth of FinAI,”
said Tianyi Zhang, General Manager of Risk Management and Cybersecurity at Ant International.
The company is also participating in the development of industry-wide standards, including its role as a launch partner of the Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) with Google and others, which sets rules for how AI agents can transact securely with user authorisation.
Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by peshkovagalina via Freepik
