PR Newswire - Lianlian DigiTech Sets AI-Native Strategy, Expands Beyond Payments into Global Financial Infrastructure

Company details plan to unify payments, compliance, and AI-driven transaction execution, targeting cross-border commerce and agent-driven transactions

HANGZHOU, China, April 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 17, 2026, Lianlian DigiTech held its 2026 Investor Day in Hangzhou, presenting its updated strategic positioning and a clearly defined path to long-term value creation, and outlining a firm commitment to an AI-native operating model and sustained growth.

Lianlian DigiTech: From a cross-border payments specialist to an AI-native global financial infrastructure provider

Zhang Zhengyu, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Lianlian DigiTech, attended the event alongside the company's senior management team and delivered a keynote titled Building Trusted Global Intelligent Financial Infrastructure. During the presentation, the company formally outlined its move from a cross-border payments specialist to an AI-native global financial infrastructure provider.

Zhang framed the transition through three interlocking drivers—timing, positioning, and execution—offering investors a clear, structured view of the company's long-term development.

Strategic Foundations: Timing, Positioning, and Execution

Timing — At a point where advances in computing are reshaping finance, AI is driving a shift in how the company operates.

The global digital payments sector is undergoing structural change, with AI redefining end-to-end commercial processes. Building on more than a decade of cross-border expertise, data capabilities, and compliance experience, Lianlian DigiTech is building an AI-native platform that handles payments, compliance, and transaction logic as a single system—moving beyond standalone payment processing toward full-process orchestration.

Positioning — Connecting Eastern supply chains with global markets, with a differentiated role across cross-border commerce.

As a fintech company linking Eastern supply chains with global markets, Lianlian DigiTech operates across cross-border payments, fund flows, and compliance in multiple jurisdictions. Its global licensing footprint and track record of operating under multiple regulatory regimes have established regulatory credibility. The company is also an early participant in the digital renminbi ecosystem and is expanding its use in cross-border applications.

Execution — A multidisciplinary team shaped by multiple economic and technology cycles.

Over two decades, Lianlian DigiTech has built a team combining deep Web2 operational experience, AI and Web3 capabilities, and strong regulatory understanding. Entering 2026, the company is restructuring its organization around an AI-native approach, while appointing a younger, execution-focused leadership cohort to lead implementation.

Three Growth Pathways

Based on these foundations, Lianlian DigiTech has defined three strategic growth priorities:

1. Strengthening the core business
   The company reported solid performance in 2025, with strong revenue and profitability supporting the sustainability of its model. It will continue to deepen its global payments network and focus on high-value clients, reinforcing a durable, cash-generative growth base.
2. Advancing technology capabilities
   With the goal of becoming AI-native financial infrastructure, Lianlian DigiTech is embedding AI across the full transaction lifecycle. Leveraging its global payments and Virtual Asset Trading Platform (VATP) licenses, the company is building integrated Web2 and Web3 financial infrastructure while exploring cross-border applications of the digital renminbi.
3. Expanding the ecosystem selectively
   Through strategic investments and M&A, the company will target opportunities at the intersection of AI and fintech to strengthen its ecosystem.

Zhang emphasized the substantive nature of "AI-native," describing it as a foundational shift—embedding AI across products, risk management, operations, and services as a core business capability.

Looking ahead, Lianlian DigiTech aims to serve as a trusted layer for value exchange in an AI-driven global economy, supported by its global network, compliance framework, and continuously evolving AI capabilities, with a clear focus on long-term, infrastructure-level value creation rather than short-term expansion.

AI-Native Strategy: From connecting funds to driving intelligent decision-making

Zhou Jiangxiang, Chief Architect and Head of the AI Innovation Division, outlined how AI agents are reshaping financial infrastructure and detailed Lianlian DigiTech's implementation roadmap.

Zhou described the company's evolution beyond a payments provider toward AI-native financial infrastructure—moving from connecting funds to driving intelligent decision-making and supporting AI-driven commercial systems.

Three Implementation Pillars

1. Payments
From user-initiated payments to automated, system-initiated transactions
Lianlian DigiTech is developing an Agent Wallet designed for agent-driven commerce (agentic commerce). This system will allow AI agents to autonomously complete transactions, addressing machine-to-machine (M2M) value exchange and enabling fully automated payment loops, so that AI agents can initiate, approve, and settle transactions without human intervention.

2. Customer Growth
From a payment channel to a growth driver
The company aims to move beyond payments by offering AI-driven marketing and customer acquisition tools, helping clients generate revenue rather than simply process transactions, moving from a service role to a direct contributor to client growth.

3. Operations
Building a software-driven fintech company.
Lianlian DigiTech is implementing end-to-end agent-based operations across customer service, compliance, and treasury functions. AI-powered compliance systems enable near real-time global regulatory checks, improving efficiency and scalability, while establishing a technology-led operating model.

Technology and Business Model

With large models and AI agents entering practical deployment, companies are accelerating toward AI-native architectures.

Lianlian DigiTech is positioning itself as a neutral provider of AI-native financial infrastructure serving both human and machine-driven commerce.

• Technology architecture: A programmable financial operating system for AI agents, enabling automated, intelligent transaction execution.
• Business model: Modular services including transaction processing, clearing and settlement, credit services, and enterprise subscriptions, delivered through scalable, platform-based interfaces, designed for standardization and reuse across multiple scenarios.

Zhou concluded that, supported by its global licensing network, compliance track record, and cross-border data assets, Lianlian DigiTech is building a defensible position based on trust, data, and network effects—driving long-term, sustainable infrastructure value, with increasing customer stickiness and pricing resilience over time.