Banma, Alipay launch voice payment system for cars

Banma Intelligence and Alipay have launched an AI cockpit payment system for in-car voice transactions, allowing drivers to make purchases from their vehicles without using a phone.

The service combines Banma's in-car AI cockpit software with Alipay AI Pay and is designed for purchases made by spoken command while driving. Its first uses will focus on entertainment and travel, including buying cinema tickets, booking hotels and ordering food.

A driver can ask the vehicle to complete a purchase such as two film tickets. The system then selects showtimes and seats before the user confirms payment by voice. It also includes Alipay's fraud prevention and risk controls for each transaction.

The launch reflects a wider push by carmakers and vehicle software suppliers to add more digital services to connected cars. Payments are emerging as a new area of focus as manufacturers seek to turn the in-car screen and voice assistant into a channel for commerce as well as navigation, media and communication.

Banma said the cockpit payment system has completed technical integration testing with major automotive original equipment manufacturers, which are expected to introduce the feature in new vehicle models in the second half of 2026.

Growing use

Alipay AI Pay was introduced in 2025 as a payment product for transactions handled through AI agents and voice commands. The service passed 100 million users in February 2026 and processed more than 120 million transactions in one week that month, according to Alipay.

That scale gives Banma and Alipay a base from which to extend AI-led payments into cars, where safety, authentication and user trust are likely to face close scrutiny. In-car transactions also raise practical questions about how much can be completed hands-free and what safeguards are needed when purchases are initiated in a moving vehicle.

Ming Cai, chief product officer at Banma Intelligence, said the companies see payment as the missing step in the smart cockpit experience. "In the past two years, smart cockpits have achieved rapid advances in perception and decision-making," Cai said. "With large models onboard, vehicles can understand user intent and make recommendations. By integrating Alipay AI Pay into our AI cockpit solution, we are removing the last friction point in the in-car smart cockpit experience - drivers simply speak to pay, no phone required."

Automotive push

Banma is one of China's established intelligent cockpit software providers and says it works with 69 automotive manufacturers. Its cockpit systems have been deployed in more than 10 million vehicles, according to the company.

It also said it has brought more than 100 service providers into its cockpit ecosystem and works with more than 10 chip companies. That network gives it access to the software, services and hardware relationships needed to place new in-car applications with car brands.

For Alipay, the move is part of a broader expansion of AI-led commerce beyond smartphones. The payment product is already used in AI agents embedded in apps and mini programs, smart glasses including devices from Rokid, and consumer AI applications such as Alibaba's Qwen.

Cars are a particularly attractive setting because drivers may want to complete common purchases linked to journeys and leisure without stopping to use another device. Cinema bookings, hotel reservations and food orders are examples of purchases that can arise while travelling and can be matched to a route or destination.

China's automotive market has become an important testing ground for such services as domestic manufacturers compete on software features as much as on vehicle hardware. Intelligent cockpits, large language models and integrated digital assistants are now central themes in product development across the sector.

The tie-up between Banma and Alipay suggests payment functions are moving closer to the centre of that competition. If widely adopted by carmakers, voice-led transactions could become a new point of differentiation in vehicles that already offer connected navigation, media streaming and app-based services.

Alipay says it connects more than one billion consumers with over 80 million merchants across China and offers access to more than 10,000 services in areas including travel, healthcare, tourism and entertainment.