Hong Kong-based Mobile Tech has launched an online payment service that will allow Hong Kong merchants to accept online transactions from mainland internet users.
The service has attracted fewer than three clients so far, according to chief executive Sam Lam Kin-keung. Nevertheless, he saw huge demand for the payment system, especially among global internet companies with servers based in Hong Kong.
The online service collects payments in renminbi and settles the transaction in Hong Kong dollars.
This would make the system ideal for global companies that hope to tackle the vast mainland market but are unsure of how to take profits out of China owing to the yuan's limited convertibility.
'They are a few sectors that would be very amenable to these services, such as educational institutions that provide classes or courses to mainland students,' Mr Lam said, adding he was in talks with several educational institutions.
Mobile Tech has signed a non-exclusive deal with China Union Pay to process the transactions.
