The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is set to establish a fintech innovation hub and supervisory sandbox to facilitate fintech innovation in the country.
The new fintech hub has been developed in collaboration with Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI). The hub will comprise all necessary system and support resources to help banking and payments industry players to carry out proof of concept trials of products and services by using new technologies.
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Regulators will offer early inputs to the trial works before they are implemented.
HKMA CEO Norman Chan said: “While some of the largest banks have built their own laboratories, this new Fintech Innovation Hub will cater for the big and small institutions alike such that the industry as a whole would be able to adopt new technologies more speedily and in a more collaborative manner.”
The fintech supervisory sandbox will help banks to conduct testing and trial of newly developed technologies and applications on a pilot basis.
The sandbox will allow banks to try out the new fintech products without the requirement for full compliance with HKMA’s usual supervisory requirements.
“This will enable banks to gather real-life data and user feedback on their Fintech products or services more easily and in a controlled environment, so that they can make suitable refinements to their products before the full launch,” Chan said.
