Collaboration builds on DBS's ongoing work with Visa to make cards Agent Ready, while bringing practical AI education and tools to customers through Preface.
HONG KONG, Aug. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly embedded in how consumers discover, compare and transact, DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited ("DBS Hong Kong") today announced a partnership with Preface, a leading tech-enablement company, to help customers build practical AI readiness for everyday life and work. The partnership is a natural extension of DBS's ongoing collaboration with Visa, a global digital payment leader, including its participation in Visa's Agentic Ready programme, which helps issuers and ecosystem partners prepare for the next generation of secure, AI-powered commerce. While DBS continues to work with Visa to explore secure, issuer-led payment experiences for AI-enabled transactions, DBS believes customers will also benefit from accessible education courses and AI tools offered by Preface, enabling them to better understand and use AI with confidence.
According to Visa's recent study[1], up to 74% of consumers in Asia Pacific have used AI-powered tools for product searches, price tracking or research. AI is evolving from "offering recommendations" to "proactive execution". Under Agentic Commerce, AI handles the entire shopping journey. In the next phase, AI agents will automate the entire purchase journey under secure authorisation, from searching and comparing prices to executing payments delivering an unprecedented seamless experience while ensuring consumers maintain clear visibility and control. Against this backdrop, DBS's partnership with Preface is designed to complement its payment innovation agenda by equipping customers with the knowledge and practical tools to participate confidently in an AI-enabled future.
As AI agents increasingly participate in consumption and payment flows, DBS believes the card of the future must be both intelligent and trusted. As the first issuer in Asia-Pacific to pilot Visa Intelligent Commerce, DBS has demonstrated through live pilot transactions how AI agents can securely complete everyday payments on behalf of customers using an issuer-led authentication process. This ongoing work with Visa forms the foundation for DBS's Agent Ready roadmap, while the new collaboration with Preface broadens the proposition by helping customers build the AI literacy and hands-on skills needed to benefit from these emerging capabilities.
Visa Agentic Ready programme combines its existing network infrastructure with advanced tokenisation, authentication, and risk controls. This initiative provides issuers with a comprehensive testing framework to safely explore how AI agents execute payments on consumers' behalf. Through DBS's ongoing collaboration with Visa, the bank is exploring how AI agents — backed by user consent and robust safeguards — can automatically identify rewards, search for offers, and complete purchases, establishing 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, said: "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."
Paulina Leong, General Manager of Visa Hong Kong and Macau, said: "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."
Through the partnership with Preface, DBS Hong Kong will launch exclusive hands-on AI experience workshops designed to translate complex technology concepts into practical, accessible learning. The workshops will help customers understand how to use AI tools more effectively, from improving prompts and tailoring AI responses to building customised AI assistants for everyday scenarios. During the launch briefing, Preface instructors demonstrated a range of practical AI applications, including prompt engineering, AI assistant design, Computer-using Agents and Agent Orchestrators. These demonstrations showed how AI tools can support learning, productivity and daily task coordination, giving attendees a firsthand view of how rapidly AI is becoming part of daily life and work.
DBS Credit Card Exclusive Offer Details
Starting September 2026, DBS Credit Cardholders subscribing to the designated AI tools, can get a free chance to access an exclusive AI Experience Workshop via the "DBS Credit Cards Subscription Bonus Club". Cardholders can also enjoy up to 15% off when enrolling in Preface AI courses with DBS Credit Card.
Additional privileges will be available later for DBS Visa Credit Cardholders when subscribing to the designated AI tools through the "DBS Credit Cards Subscription Bonus Club", further supporting customers as they explore and adopt AI tools in practical ways.
