Hong Kong

89% of residents of Hong Kong had access to the internet in 2021.

Hong Kong uses Open API Framework for the Hong Kong Banking Sector.

95% of the population of Hong Kong have bank accounts.

Customer receptiveness for open APIs has risen sharply in Hong Kong, with the number of API calls in Q3 2020 exceeding the recorded number of calls for Q4 2019 almost 70-fold.

A Capco Bank of the Future survey of 707 Hong Kong consumers found that 86% would trust ‘Big Tech’ to run their banking services, as much as or more than they would a bank.

By implementing the Open API framework, the policy-makers in Hong Kong want to ensure the competitiveness and relevance of the banking sector, provide a secure, controlled and convenient operating environment to allow banks and their partners to work together and develop innovative/integrated banking services that improve customer experience and to keep up with international developments in the delivery of banking services.

Hong Kong acts as a geographic and financial gateway to China via supportive Government initiatives that promote innovation and enable high-value investment within the sector.

Supportive initiatives include the launch of the ‘Commercial Data Interchange’ (CDI) in November 2020, which enables more efficient financial intermediation in the banking system. At the end of 2022, the CDI was officially launched as a consent-based financial data infrastructure, working to facilitate financial institutions’ retrieval of enterprises’ commercial data, in particular, the data of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), from both public and private data providers.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) launched its Fintech 2025 strategy in June 2021. The strategy aims to encourage all banks to digitise, strengthen research on Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), lead next-generation banking infrastructure, increase the supply of Fintech talent, and formulate supportive policies.

There are currently more than 600 Fintechs operating in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong ranked 19th in Wiley’s Digital Skills Gap Index (DSGI) 2021. Particularly high, third, Hong Kong ranked in supply, demand and competitiveness and maths literacy.

In 2016, Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) launched The Fintech Supervisory Sandbox (FSS), which allows banks and their partnering technology firms (tech firms) to conduct pilot trials of their Fintech initiatives involving a limited number of participating customers without the need to achieve full compliance with the HKMA’s supervisory requirements.

Hong Kong uses the Open API Framework for the Hong Kong Banking Sector.