Tokenised bonds, 24-hour fund trading, and AI oversight are shaping Hong Kong’s next phase of financial technology development.
Hong Kong is stepping up efforts to integrate tokenisation, digital payments and AI into its financial system, focusing on improving efficiency, expanding access to finance and strengthening regulatory safeguards. Speaking at Hong Kong FinTech Week on 2 November, Financial Secretary Paul Chan outlined three priorities for the city’s fintech development, emphasising the need to translate technological innovation into practical benefits for businesses and consumers.
Cross-border payment connectivity and tokenised financial markets are central to the strategy. Hong Kong’s Faster Payment System (FPS), which has recorded more than 22 million registrations, already connects with mainland China and Thailand. A forthcoming collaboration with UnionPay International will extend QR-code payment acceptance to more than 100 million merchants across Hong Kong, mainland China and over 40 overseas markets.
Meanwhile, the city’s fourth digital green bond offering raised approximately HK$20 billion across four currencies in September, with tokenised deposits used to settle the Hong Kong dollar portion. Two tokenised money market funds have also begun round-the-clock trading on a licensed platform. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is advancing Project Ensemble to enable 24-hour settlement of tokenised deposits and support cross-border payments.
Expanding financing opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is another priority. The HKMA’s Commercial Data Interchange (CDI) has facilitated more than 125,000 SME loan applications, involving nearly HK$110 billion in credit since its launch in 2022. Research cited by Chan found that banks making greater use of the platform tended to offer SMEs lending rates around 36 basis points lower.
Additional initiatives include CargoX, which uses cargo and trade data to help banks verify transactions, and an agreement with the PAA Digital Trade Alliance to extend cross-border data sharing through a network spanning 15 economies. These arrangements aim to help financial institutions assess business performance through commercial data and transaction records rather than relying primarily on collateral.
Regulatory certainty and accountability will underpin further adoption. Chan highlighted Hong Kong’s stablecoin licensing framework, under which the first two issuer licences were granted in April 2026, alongside the launch of Project SAGE, an HKMA initiative examining governance and safeguards for AI agents in financial services. The project will explore how financial institutions should define the authority of AI agents, maintain human oversight and intervene when systems act beyond their permitted scope.
Chan stressed that institutions deploying AI must remain accountable for its actions. The government’s broader objective is to move beyond experimental projects and integrate fintech applications into everyday business operations.
Why does it matter?
Hong Kong’s fintech ambitions will ultimately be measured by whether businesses can use these developments without needing to navigate fragmented systems or costly intermediaries. Bringing tokenised assets, payment networks, and commercial data into closer alignment could give the city a practical advantage in international finance, particularly as competition between financial centres increasingly extends to digital infrastructure. The real test is whether smaller businesses can benefit from these changes as much as banks and large financial institutions.
