WeChat Pay is quietly testing a feature that gives AI agents their own dedicated spending card — and it requires your approval for every single purchase. The Chinese payment giant is partnering with Tencent's own AI agent app WorkBuddy to pilot an "AI-specific card" inside WeChat Balance.
The mechanism is still in early internal testing at Tencent, but it marks the first time an AI agent has been given a dedicated spending account tied directly to a mobile payment platform — with per-transaction confirmation baked in.
Inside the AI-specific card interface in WeChat Balance, users can transfer money in or out of the card. The card's spending limit is capped by the balance you load onto it. To set it up, you must explicitly authorize and bind it to a specific AI agent. The binding page even includes a warning that the AI will be able to place orders autonomously — but each transaction requires you to tap confirm.
It's a fascinating middle ground: giving AI agents the ability to act on your behalf, while keeping a tight leash on their spending. Whether this actually catches on remains to be seen, but it's a glimpse into how payment platforms might handle agent-driven commerce in the near future.