Hong Kong brokerage Guotai Junan announces Faster Payment System support
Clients of Guotai Junan can now use the FPS to deposit funds to the settlement bank account of the brokerage.
About a month after the Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced the launch of the Faster Payment System (FPS), Hong Kong-based online trading company Guotai Junan International Hold. Limited (HKG:1788) has informed its clients that it now supports the system.
In a brief notice on its website, the broker says that its clients can now use the FPS to deposit funds to its settlement bank account. Guotai Junan explains that it has added a new CNY bank account in HSBC bank.
The new system operates on a round-the-clock basis and connects banks and stored-value facility (SVF) operators on the same platform. It permits the public to transfer funds anytime, anywhere, across different banks or SVFs with funds available almost immediately. Fund transfer is set to become very user-friendly with the use of mobile number or email address as account proxy for the payee.
The FPS supports Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) and Renminbi (RMB) payments.
The public can make use of the mobile app of participating banks and SVFs to register their mobile phone number or email address with the FPS as an account proxy for receiving funds. Effective September 30, 2018, the public got the ability to make transfers or receive funds using the FPS.
In a recent announcement, HKMA said the number of FPS registrations had surpassed 450,000.
Early in September, Mrs Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, outlined a number of fintech projects. She stressed the importance of the new business model of virtual banking. In May, the HKMA issued revised guidelines for the authorisation of virtual banks. It has received about 30 virtual bank applications to date, ranging from telecommunications operators and Fintech companies to global banks. The HKMA aims to start granting licences to virtual banks by the first quarter of next year.
