Hong Kong’s Faster Payment System marks over 450,000 registrations
Since the HKMA announced the launch of the FPS on September 17th, and started accepting the public to register as a payee, the regulator has recorded over 450,000 registrations.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has seen significant interest in the new Faster Payment System (FPS) whose launch was announced on September 17, 2018. Since then, the number of registrations has surpassed 450,000.
The progress of FPS was reiterated today in a new announcement by the HKMA. The regulator explained that the FPS is set to go into full production on September 30, 2018 when banks and stored value facility (SVF) operators participating in the FPS will start to introduce services enabling their customers to make and receive real-time payments through the FPS.
Mr Norman Chan, Chief Executive of the HKMA, said,
“Since we announced the launch of the FPS on 17 September and started accepting the public to register as a payee, we have recorded over 450 thousand of registrations so far. After the full launch of the FPS on 30 September, Hong Kong will enter a new era of electronic payment as the FPS is a unique retail payment system in the world. We can enjoy an instant payment service which is round-the-clock, simple and convenient to use, robust and secure, with full connectivity while supporting both the Hong Kong dollar and the renminbi. It is also free of charge for small-value fund transfer.”
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 from September 30, 2018, the public will be able to make transfers or receive funds using the FPS.
Earlier this month, 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.
