JPX Market Innovation & Research (JPXI), with the support of Amazon Web Services (AWS), has made significant progress towards Japan Exchange Group (JPX)’s goal of becoming a “global, comprehensive finance and information platform,” as outlined in its Medium-Term Management Plan. JPXI has developed J-WS, JPX’s common infrastructure platform, on AWS. The platform supports the stable operation of JPX Group’s data and digital services while improving operational quality and functionality through AWS’s advanced cloud technologies. As part of its ongoing digital transformation, JPXI will migrate the Timely Disclosure Network (TDnet) to J-WS. TDnet plays a critical role in transmitting material corporate…

JCB International, the international arm of JCB and Agoda have entered into a three-year partnership, announced during the 18th JCB World Conference. Running from April 2026 to March 2029, the MoU outlines a plan to use data-driven insights to attract new customers, refine marketing strategies, and explore new communication channels to engage inbound travellers to Japan. The collaboration includes joint campaigns and co-marketing initiatives aimed at improving customer experience and encouraging greater use of JCB cards. “We are proud to partner with Agoda to deliver greater benefits to JCB cardmembers,” said Masaki Yokawa, President and CEO of JCB International. “This…

Stripe and NEC Corporation have begun exploring the integration of the Stripe Reader S700 payment terminal, part of the unified commerce solution Stripe Terminal, with NEC’s face recognition payment service. The collaboration aims to combine Stripe’s payment infrastructure with NEC’s facial recognition technology, known for its high authentication accuracy*, to enable secure, hands-free payments and improve customer convenience. The face recognition payment experience will be demonstrated using the Stripe Reader S700 at the Singapore Fintech Festival from 12 to 14 November. Stripe Terminal is a unified commerce solution that connects in-store and online payments through a single platform, offering real-time…

XTransfer has entered into a collaboration with Bank SinoPac, through its Hong Kong Branch, to expand international operations and provide SMEs with comprehensive cross-border financial solutions. The partnership was formalised with the signing of a memorandum of understanding between XTransfer Founder and CEO Bill Deng and Bank SinoPac Hong Kong Branch Chief Executive Lin Chia Yun during Hong Kong FinTech Week 2025. Under the agreement, the two parties will work together to strengthen XTransfer’s cross-border payment capabilities. In the first phase, with support from Bank SinoPac Hong Kong Branch’s network and services, XTransfer will offer over 700,000 clients access to…

Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) participated in Hong Kong Fintech Week 2025 (HKFTW25) as a strategic partner, announcing plans to expand its digital assets offerings to support the growth of Hong Kong’s digital asset ecosystem. Following the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s (HKMA) launch of its “Fintech 2030” vision, Bill Winters, Group Chief Executive of Standard Chartered, spoke at a panel titled “Sustaining Excellence: Hong Kong’s Role in the Future of International Financial Centre”, highlighting the city’s strengths as a global financial hub. Senior leaders from the bank also led seminars on topics including tokenisation, Web3 development, open banking, and generative…

HashKey and Kraken have announced a strategic partnership to promote institutional adoption of tokenised assets. The collaboration aims to combine both firms’ expertise and resources to drive innovation, expand market growth, and develop tokenised real-world asset opportunities across the Asia-Pacific region. Both companies bring established credibility in the global crypto ecosystem, a strong commitment to regulatory compliance, and a shared objective of broadening institutional and retail engagement in digital assets. Recognising the growing opportunity to connect traditional finance with digital assets and unlock institutional capital for tokenisation, HashKey and Kraken will explore collaboration in several key areas. The partnership will…

Reap, a global fintech company providing stablecoin-enabled financial infrastructure, has expanded its global headquarters with a new 10,014 sq ft office at 1063 King’s Road, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong. The expansion marks a key step in Reap’s global growth strategy amid rising market confidence and regulatory clarity surrounding stablecoin adoption. Since developing a full platform offering in 2021, combining cards, payments, treasury, and expense management, the company has grown processing volumes eightfold by the end of 2023. In 2025, Reap reached profitability and projects a sixfold increase in volumes in 2024. Its clients include Animoca Brands, Trust Wallet, CoinMarketCap, and…

SoftBank and OpenAI have launched a joint venture, SB OAI Japan. The venture aims to provide “Crystal intelligence,” an enterprise AI solution designed to improve management and operational efficiency across Japanese companies. SB OAI Japan will integrate OpenAI’s technology with local implementation and system integration services to deliver Crystal intelligence exclusively in Japan, with commercial availability expected in 2026. SoftBank Corp. will be the first to adopt the solution, testing its application in product development and business transformation before offering it to other organisations. The venture builds on SoftBank’s ongoing shift towards becoming an AI-driven group, with employees already using…

Loyalty and travel rewards platform HeyMax has made its first international launch in Hong Kong, partnering with Cathay to connect more users and merchants across the region. The Singapore-based company said the move supports its goal of building Asia’s leading open loyalty ecosystem. The expansion follows its July acquisition of Hong Kong fintech firm krip and is part of plans to quadruple its team and strengthen regional partnerships. HeyMax reported fivefold year-on-year revenue growth and an annualised revenue run rate of US$6 million as of May. It aims to reach one million users and issue over two billion Max Miles across the region by…

Tencent Cloud concluded its participation in Hong Kong Fintech Week 2025, where it showcased a range of financial technology solutions and shared expert insights through keynote sessions and panel discussions. The company highlighted its efforts to advance the fintech sector through developments in cloud computing and AI. Throughout the event, Tencent Cloud’s booth drew interest from financial institutions, technology partners, and industry professionals, featuring demonstrations of solutions including Tencent Yuanbao, the eKYC facial-recognition tool, the Agent Development Platform (ADP), and the CodeBuddy AI assistant. These technologies aim to help financial institutions enhance security, improve operational efficiency, and support digital transformation…

WeBank, China’s first digital bank, along with its subsidiary WeBank Technology Services, made its debut at the Hong Kong Fintech Week x StartmeupHK Festival 2025, signalling a step in their international expansion. At the event, WeBank presented its work in technological innovation, practical applications, and inclusive finance. WeBank Technology Services highlighted its focus on technology exports and establishing a strategic presence in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Fintech Week x StartmeupHK Festival, jointly hosted by the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, and InvestHK, ran from 3 to 7 November at the Hong Kong…

Franklin Templeton has launched a tokenised USD money market fund, the Franklin OnChain US Government Money Fund, for professional investors in Hong Kong. The fund uses Franklin Templeton’s proprietary blockchain-recordkeeping system, aiming to provide transparency, security, and efficiency. Its objective is to generate income through high-quality, short-term US government securities while preserving capital and maintaining liquidity. This is the first Luxembourg-registered tokenised UCITS money market fund issued natively on blockchain and represents the first end-to-end tokenised solution from an asset manager in the market, integrating issuance, distribution, and servicing. Tariq Ahmad, Head of APAC at Franklin Templeton, said: “We are…

XTransfer and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Hong Kong Branch (SPD Bank) have announced a collaboration on cross-border financial services, formalising a strategic cooperation agreement. The partnership will focus on payment and collection solutions, transaction processing, and cash management for SMEs engaged in foreign trade. Following a previous agreement with SPD Bank’s Shanghai Branch in September, this collaboration extends to the Hong Kong Branch. The memorandum of cooperation was signed at the XTransfer booth during Hong Kong Fintech Week. Under the partnership, XTransfer clients will have access to services including “Global Accounts,” “Local Currency Accounts,” transaction processing, and cash management through…

ZA Bank has launched the StockBack x ZA Card, a Visa card to offer stock rebates on eligible purchases. The card allows users to earn stocks as a rebate on every eligible transaction, credited directly to their investment account. Users can activate the StockBack x ZA Card via the ZA Bank App with a single tap. Eligible transactions start from HKD 10, and users may select preferred stocks, including AAPL, TSLA, and NVDA, as their rebate. Rebated stocks are automatically redeemed each Monday and credited to the user’s investment account, with no fees for redemption or subsequent transactions. During the…

BridgeWise announced the launch of BondWise, a solution that would deliver granular, AI-driven bond insights at scale, during Hong Kong Fintech Week 2025. The solution aims to address gaps in the bond market, where analysis has traditionally been confined to high-level ratings from major agencies with limited coverage and insufficient insights for precise portfolio decisions. BondWise would change this by providing in-depth analysis at the individual bond level for every investor, from retail to institutional. Dor Eligula, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer of BridgeWise, shared, “Our focus has always been to make complex financial data accessible and meaningful. With BondWise,…

Aspire, a Singapore-based all-in-one finance platform for modern businesses, has announced a partnership with global programmable financial services provider Stripe to offer faster and more flexible payment solutions for businesses in Hong Kong. Through the new integration, Aspire users can collect payments from clients in Hong Kong, mainland China, and overseas via credit cards, digital wallets such as Alipay, Weixin Pay (WeChat Pay), Apple Pay, and Google Pay, as well as SEPA Direct Debit. Customers can pay in multiple global and Asian currencies, including USD, EUR, and TWD, supporting businesses with international clients and cross-border transactions. Cash flow remains a…

Hang Seng Bank has introduced the “Money Safe” Account to enhance fraud prevention and safeguard customer assets. Developed under the guidance of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the new feature allows personal banking customers to lock some or all of their deposits in a dedicated account, protecting funds from unauthorised access or scams. Money placed in a “Money Safe” Account cannot be withdrawn or transferred via online, phone, or ATM channels. Customers must visit a Hang Seng branch in person for identity verification and additional authentication to unlock funds, close the account, or adjust the locked amount. Hang Seng…

Thunes has partnered with WeChat Pay HK, the Hong Kong dollar–denominated e-wallet, to enable faster, more affordable, and dependable cross-border money transfers for Hong Kong users. The collaboration supports real-time outbound transfers to billions of endpoints worldwide through Thunes’ extensive global network. The partnership builds on Thunes’ ongoing relationship with Tencent, WeChat Pay HK’s parent company. In 2022, Thunes became the first payment network partner to connect with Tencent Financial Technology, enabling international transfers to users in mainland China. WeChat Pay HK users can now send money to markets including Southeast Asia, Europe, and Australia, benefiting individuals such as expatriates…

ZA Bank CEO Calvin Ng joined the opening day of Hong Kong Fintech Week 2025, speaking at a thematic forum hosted by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) on “HK Open Banking Behind the Scenes: How IADS Transforms the Banking Industry by Innovation and Collaboration.” Joined by leaders from the banking and technology sectors, Ng discussed how ZA Bank is leveraging Interbank Account Data Sharing (IADS) to deliver practical, user-focused applications and emphasised the importance of industry collaboration in advancing open banking. Guided by its vision of being “Your Future Bank for Now,” ZA Bank continues to apply technology to…

The Insurance Authority (IA) announced the publication of the Whitepaper on Federated Learning: Unlocking Innovation in the Insurance Sector on 3 November during Hong Kong Fintech Week. Clement Cheung, Chief Executive Officer of the IA, remarked that “Given the rapidly evolving market landscape, financial regulators must navigate in a balanced and enlightened manner to promote inclusive and responsible innovation. Seen in this context, Federated Learning plays a useful role in enabling cross-sector data collaboration without compromising personal privacy.” In his keynote address, Cheung outlined several initiatives led by the IA to enhance operational resilience and support the adoption of advanced…