The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), in collaboration with Invest Hong Kong, opened the 11th annual Hong Kong FinTech Week 2026 today, unveiling a suite of financial technology initiatives under its “Fintech 2030” strategy. The newly introduced programs focus on advancing the regulatory framework’s four core “DART” pillars: Data and Payment, Artificial Intelligence, Resilience, and Tokenisation.
Addressing artificial intelligence developments, the HKMA launched Project SAGE (Securing Agentic Finance with Governance and Enablement) to manage the integration of autonomous Agentic AI in banking. The regulator established a cross-sectoral expert group and issued a supervisory discussion paper to guide safe implementation. Concurrently, to mitigate long-term cybersecurity risks posed by quantum computing, the HKMA partnered with The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology to release the PQC Toolkit, providing banks with a structured transition model toward post-quantum cryptography.
On digital asset settlement, the authority transitioned its Project Ensemble sandbox to EnsembleTX, enabling 24/7 real-value transaction capabilities for tokenised assets and treasury management. Following successful trial trades of tokenised Exchange Fund Bills, the HKMA confirmed plans to extend secondary market trials to regulated stablecoins. Additionally, the HKMA partnered with Cyberport to roll out tConnect Launchpad, designed to accelerate institutional adoption of digital assets and tokenised use cases.
To expand cross-border retail payments, the HKMA announced an integration between Hong Kong’s Faster Payment System (FPS) and UnionPay International (UPI), scheduled for rollout by year-end. The partnership will allow local users to make QR code payments across more than 100 million merchant locations in mainland China and over 40 international markets. HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue emphasized that these initiatives aim to maintain a resilient ecosystem while supporting responsible financial innovation across the region.
