With a tap or blink, consumers will find paying for goods and services easier than ever before

Consumer digital payments will continue to become more convenient, requiring as little as one tap, one voice or even one glimpse within five years.

At least that's the view of the future presented at the 2025 Inclusion Conference on the Bund that opened on Thursday in Shanghai, where the latest financial and technological breakthroughs empowered by artificial intelligence were on display.

"AI has entered an era of experience featured by continued learning," Turing Award winner Richard Sutton said at the start of the three-day conference.

China has been a global pioneer in developing advanced consumer payment systems. Already, scanning QR codes has become a common way to pay for goods and services in China. Alibaba's Alipay is developing an even simpler "tap" system based on near field communication technology that allows payment without even having to unlock a smartphone.

The "tap" services by Alipay , launched in July of 2024, has been applied in more than 1,000 scenarios and accumulated 200 million users.

The "tap" service, launched in July last year, already has 200 million users, Zhu Lin, chief technology officer of digital payments at Alibaba's Ant Financial Group, told the conference.

"This service is growing super-fast and shows the willingness of Chinese consumers to embrace novel payment channels," Zhu said. "We now see 80 percent of users choosing 'tap' over 'scan' when both channels are available, and we expect even more convenient systems to come with the advance of new technologies."

One potential channel is use of AI glasses. Rokid Glasses has made that prospect a reality in partnership of AliPay. It allows payment with a voice code "heard" by the smart glasses, whose function is expected to parallel that of a phone in the future.

"With the growth of AI, we believe payments will continue to become easier, along with a lot of other things," said Rokid founder Zhu Mingming, who used to work for Alibaba.

Joe Ngai, chairman of McKinsey China consulting firm, said China remains the irreplaceable growth engine of AI – not just a market, but a market maker.

About 80 percent of users have chosen "tap" over "scan" when both channels are available.

In the realm of cross-border payments, Chinese e-commerce platforms such as Temu and Shein are inviting more companies to explore easier payment methods in tandem with Chinese sellers.

UK-based PPRO, a global payment service provider established in 2006 with a wide network of liaison in local markets that include Europe, Latin America and Asia, is seeking Chinese partners beyond current ties with the likes of Ant Financial to help them better connected with foreign consumers.

The global e-commerce market is forecast to reach US$20 trillion this year, growing to US$31 trillion by 2028, according to media reports.

Cross-border merchants face the challenge of foreign consumers tending to favor their own local, familiar payment methods when buying goods. However, no two foreign markets are the same when it comes to consumer preferences. For example. Brazilians like to use the Pix bank transfer payment system more than Visa or MasterCard, while in Mexico, more consumers use e-wallets like Mercado Pago.

"To truly access such fast growth, Chinese businesses have to look at local payment preferences and create a trustworthy payment system to convert website visitors to buyers," said Tristan Chiappini, an executive with PPRO.

According to Chiappini, there are around 450 majority-used payment methods around the world, and it would be very time-consuming and expensive for an e-tailer to team up with all of them. That's where a global financial service provider like PPRO can help, he said.