Small businesses mostly watched the last wave of globalisation from the sidelines. Ant International CEO Peng Yang believes AI can finally give them a seat at the table.
Speaking on the “Investing in AI for an Inclusive Digital Future” panel at UNCTAD’s World Investment Forum (WIF) 2026 in Doha, Yang called for an inclusive “re-globalisation” that uses AI and digital connectivity to open global markets to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
“Globalisation 1.0 mostly benefited large enterprises, and a lot of SMEs very rarely got to participate in the global economy,” said Yang. “Achieving inclusion is critical to re-globalisation, and AI will accelerate it by democratising opportunities.”
For Malaysians, there is a local proof point: an Ant International Alipay+ campaign on Kota Kinabalu’s Gaya Street more than doubled small merchants’ payment volume.
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Why Globalisation 1.0 Left SMEs Behind
Small businesses make up more than 90% of businesses worldwide, yet gaps in technology, talent and resources have kept many out of global trade.
According to the WTO’s 2024 World Trade Report, only 8% of small firms and 15% of medium-sized firms export directly, compared with 30% of large firms.
AI could widen the gap: a 2025 OECD survey found 52% of large firms used AI, against just 17.4% of small firms. Yang argues the same technology can close it, if SMEs get access.
Ant International Sees SME Cross-Border Volume Grow 10x Faster
Over the past three years, Ant International has served more than 1 million new small merchants from 54 new markets.
“When we offer them powerful full-stack AI-native solutions, cross-border transaction volume of SMEs across our own businesses has been growing by about 50% every year, which is 10 times the growth rate of the total volume of global trade,” Yang said.
The company processes 25 million transactions daily, and 95% of its 150 million merchant customers are SMEs. Its new AI-native solutions, announced in September 2026, target their biggest pain points.
The AI Tools Built for Small Businesses
Falcon TST FX Model
Ant International’s Falcon TST AI forecast model, which achieved state-of-the-art results on a top global benchmark with forecast accuracy consistently above 93%, is now open to SMEs to help them manage global transactions with less FX risk.
WorldFirst Autopilot and Antom Autopilot
WorldFirst combines collections, payments, FX and fund management in one global account for more than 2 million SMEs, with over US$500 billion transacted across 210+ markets. Its AI agent, WorldFirst Autopilot, handles financial tasks through natural language.
Antom Autopilot simplifies payment operations with AI. Its SmartDispute tool lifts merchants’ dispute win rate to 41.8%, versus 24.5% without it, while AutoDispute recovers an average 18% of chargeback losses.
Alipay+ AI-Powered Marketing
Alipay+ connects more than 50 digital wallets to over 150 million merchants, over 95% of them SMEs. Its AI-powered campaigns have delivered striking results:
- Gaya Street, Kota Kinabalu: more than 120% growth in total payment volume (TPV) and 140% more orders
- Siam Square, Bangkok: 66% year-on-year TPV growth and 115% more orders
- A local skincare brand in Bali: 137% TPV growth and 140% more orders during the campaign
Building Trust for AI Agents in Finance
As AI agents take on financial tasks, Yang stressed that businesses need confidence the technology is safe.
“Trust is everything in payments and financial services, and it becomes even more critical in the AI era,” he said, calling on regulators and industry to build common standards together.
Ant International works with Singapore’s IMDA on privacy-enhancing technologies, joins the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s BuildFin.ai responsible AI initiative, and partners Visa and Mastercard on Know Your Agent (KYA) interoperability.
Its industry-first Antom AgentSafePay verifies purchase intent in real time and offers a fund guarantee against losses from misread intent, malicious prompt injection and other risks in merchant-deployed agents.
A Globalisation That Leaves No One Behind
As AI gets cheaper and easier to access, Yang believes small merchants can use enterprise-grade tools to automate their operations.
“We believe in a future where the new normal of Globalisation will leave no one behind. When innovation meets inclusion, everyone can pursue their opportunities like the big guys did in the past,” he said.
Read more on how Alipay+ is powering Malaysian SMEs with seamless cross-border payments, and how DuitNow QR now lets Malaysians pay abroad via Alipay+.
