Hong Kong – DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited has announced a new partnership with Preface, a tech-enablement company, aimed at helping customers build practical AI skills for daily life and work.
The move builds on DBS’s existing collaboration with global payments giant Visa. That includes the bank’s role in Visa’s Agentic Ready programme, which prepares issuers and ecosystem partners for the next wave of AI-powered commerce.
DBS continues to work with Visa on secure, issuer-led payment experiences for AI-enabled transactions. However, the bank believes customers also need accessible education and AI tools — a gap Preface is designed to fill.
According to a recent Visa study, up to 74% of consumers in Asia Pacific have already used AI-powered tools for product searches, price tracking, or research. Meanwhile, AI itself is shifting from simply offering recommendations to taking on proactive execution.
Under this emerging model of Agentic Commerce, AI handles the entire shopping journey. Looking ahead, AI agents are expected to automate the full purchase process under secure authorisation — from searching and comparing prices to executing payments.
That shift promises a more seamless experience, yet DBS emphasizes that consumers must retain clear visibility and control throughout. Against this backdrop, the partnership with Preface complements DBS’s broader payment innovation agenda by equipping customers with the knowledge to participate confidently in an AI-enabled future.
As AI agents take on a bigger role in consumption and payment flows, DBS argues that the card of the future must be both intelligent and trusted. The bank was the first issuer in Asia-Pacific to pilot Visa Intelligent Commerce, and it has already run live pilot transactions showing how AI agents can securely complete everyday payments on customers’ behalf through an issuer-led authentication process.
This ongoing work with Visa forms the foundation of DBS’s Agent Ready roadmap. The new collaboration with Preface, in turn, broadens that proposition by helping customers develop the AI literacy and hands-on skills needed to benefit from these emerging capabilities.
Visa’s Agentic Ready programme combines its existing network infrastructure with advanced tokenisation, authentication, and risk controls. The initiative gives issuers a comprehensive testing framework to safely explore how AI agents can execute payments on consumers’ behalf.
Through its ongoing collaboration with Visa, DBS is exploring how AI agents — backed by user consent and robust safeguards, can automatically identify rewards, search for offers, and complete purchases. The goal, the bank says, is to establish a trustworthy environment for consumers.
Emily Ip, Managing Director, Head of Cards and Unsecured Lending, Consumer Banking Group and Wealth Management of DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, commented on the significance of the partnership, “AI is reshaping how customers live, work and transact.”
“As we continue working with Visa to explore secure Agentic Commerce and make our cards Agent Ready, we also recognize that customers need practical knowledge and tools to take advantage of AI confidently. Our partnership with Preface brings this to life by making AI education more accessible, hands-on and relevant to customers’ everyday needs,” Ip added.
Paulina Leong, General Manager of Visa Hong Kong and Macau, echoed that sentiment, pointing to trust as the linchpin of agentic commerce,”Trust is the foundation for unlocking the full potential of agentic commerce at scale. Building that trust requires more than secure technology. It also means helping consumers better understand how AI can assist them while ensuring they remain in control.”
“Through Visa’s trusted global network and payments infrastructure, we are helping to make AI-powered shopping safe, seamless and reliable, enabling a frictionless end-to-end shopping experience. We are proud to partner with DBS Hong Kong on this initiative and look forward to helping shape a future where consumers can embrace AI-powered commerce with confidence,” she further discussed.
Through the partnership, DBS Hong Kong will roll out exclusive hands-on AI experience workshops. These sessions are designed to translate complex technology concepts into practical, accessible learning.
