Hong Kong’s Faster Payment System marks 1.59m registrations

The recently launched Faster Payment System (FPS) continues to attract new users, as indicated by fresh data released earlier today by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).

The numbers show that, since the launch of the FPS on September 17, 2018, the FPS has recorded a total of 1.59 million registrations comprising:

• 1.115 million records of mobile numbers;
• 253,000 records of email addresses;

• 223,000 records of FPS Identifiers.

During the first month of fully fledged operations (October 2018), the FPS has processed a total of 1.58 million transactions, including 1.56 million transactions denominated in Hong Kong dollar which amounts to HK$33.3 billion. Out of the HKD transactions, 828,000 transactions (HK$2.4 billion in value) were transfers made by personal customers through an account proxy (including mobile number, email address and FPS ID). Another 608,000 transactions (HK$17.9 billion in value) were transfers using account numbers, including mainly transfers to registered payee account set up previously via Internet or mobile banking which were now effected through the FPS.

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 will 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. And since September 30, 2018, the public has been able to make transfers or receive funds using the FPS.