Ant Group, the fintech powerhouse behind Alipay, is betting on smart glasses as the next frontier for mobile payments. They’ve just notched a milestone with the first transaction outside mainland China using Meizu’s AI-enabled StarV glasses in Hong Kong—no smartphone needed. It’s part of their push to make digital payments even more seamless, literally at a glance.

Editor’s Note: This isn’t just about ditching your phone to pay for coffee—it’s a glimpse into how wearable tech could reshape everyday transactions. Ant Group’s move signals a broader trend of tech giants weaving payments into devices we already wear, making convenience even more invisible. For consumers, it could mean faster, hands-free spending; for the industry, it’s another step toward a post-smartphone financial ecosystem. Whether it catches on depends on how much people actually want to blink-and-pay, but it’s clear the race to own the next payment interface is heating up.