‘World-leading’ electronic wallet system linking Hong Kong banks to be launched next year
Hong Kong’s de facto central banker Norman Chan insisted city is not lagging behind on cashless payment, citing 1.7 million credit card and 14 million Octopus transactions a day
A payment system to be launched by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority next year would be a “world-leading” platform linking banks and payment systems such as electronic wallets, according to the city’s de facto central banker.
Norman Chan Tak-lam was also confident the system would help Hong Kong recover lost ground in rolling out electronic payment systems, which have become vastly popular in mainland China.
His optimism drew mixed views from industry insiders – some welcomed the authority taking a more proactive role on adopting fintech, but others believed the measures were too late.
The Monetary Authority confirmed on Friday that the Faster Payment System (FPS) will be introduced in September next year, after years of discussion.
It would enable real-time transfer of money between banks, as well as electronic payment accounts such as Alipay and WeChat Pay.
Alipay is affiliated with Alibaba Group, owner of the South China Morning Post.