The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) jointly held the Fintech Career Accelerator Scheme (FCAS) Induction Day on (27 July 2017), welcoming the interns and marking the official commencement of their training and internships.

The HKMA and ASTRI held their first regulatory update and technical workshop respectively on the induction day, introducing the regulatory regimes and other relevant developments in financial and fintech regulations, and providing foundation fintech technical training to the FCAS interns to prepare them for internships.

The interns also visited the HKMA Information Centre and learned about the recent major developments of the financial market in Hong Kong and HKMA’s main policy objectives and functions through guided tour.

The HKMA and ASTRI will hold more regulatory updates and technical workshops for the students during the internship period. These comprehensive training will help participants under the scheme to better understand the regulatory framework for the banking industry as well as the latest developments in fintech.

Mr Howard Lee, Senior Executive Director of the HKMA, said:

“The FCAS is one of the major initiatives by the Fintech Facilitation Office of the HKMA. Applications from students studying different disciplines were received under the scheme, showing that talents with diverse backgrounds are attracted to the prospect of fintech development and the scheme. Through the FCAS, we hope to attract and train suitable talents in order to build a fintech talent pool for the banking industry.”

Dr Meikei Ieong, Chief Technology Officer of ASTRI, said:

“Hong Kong being the premier global financial hub in Asia, it is imperative for us to groom and attract more fintech talents in order to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of fintech talents. ASTRI and the HKMA play an instrumental role through the FCAS – partnering with banks and tertiary institutions to nurture fintech talents in our city with industry-relevant technical skills.”

The 12 participating banks and the HKMA received over 3,000 applications from 421 students of 10 tertiary institutions. On completion of the recruitment exercise, 74 students were successfully employed. These students will undertake internships for six months or one year to work on various fintech projects at the participating banks and the HKMA. Some of the students have already commenced their internships while the rest will also start during the summer holiday.

The HKMA and ASTRI launched the FCAS last December to nurture talents to meet the growing need for fintech talents. The FCAS is the first fintech talent development initiative led by regulator and research institute and joined by banks and tertiary institutions in Hong Kong.