Leading the way on day 2 of Hong Kong FinTech Week, the Securities and Futures Commission unveiled a new licensing regime and framework to regulate all virtual asset trading platforms which is a shift from the previous opt-in approach. CEO, Securities and Futures Commission, Mr Ashley Ian Alder, JP, said this will provide greater financial protection to investors and enable more effective AML monitoring. “Once this new regime is in place, all virtual asset trading platforms in Hong Kong would be regulated, supervised and monitored under one of two regimes: the existing opt-in framework we introduced last year, or the…

Kicking-off Hong Kong FinTech Week, Financial Secretary, HKSAR Government, Mr Paul Chan Mo-po, said, “Hong Kong has shown remarkable resourcefulness throughout this testing time. We continue to be the region’s leading financial services hub,” His comments follow the 2020 FM Global Resilience Index ranking Hong Kong as Asia’s most resilient economy and second among Asian economies in the IMD World Digital competitiveness ranking. COVID-19 has accelerated the financial sector’s evolution, condensing years of digital adoption into a matter of months. It has changed consumer behaviour and how society interacts with financial services. To fully realise the opportunities ahead, the fintech…

During his opening speech at the Hong Kong Fintech Week 2020, the city’s flagship fintech event, Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) Chief Executive Eddie Yue announced that the HKMA is exploring a new data strategy and considering building a new financial infrastructure called Commercial Data Interchange (CDI) to enable more efficient financial intermediation in the banking system, and to enhance financial inclusion in Hong Kong. The CDI is a consent-based financial infrastructure that would enable more secure and efficient data flow between banks and sources of commercial data. It has the potential of solving long-standing pain points in SME financing by…

Regtech in Hong Kong has expanded around 10 times in the number of Regtech companies in recent 5 years, and each of the one-fifth of surveyed Regtech companies are targeting to raise over 5 million USD venture investment in 2021, revealed by a study from the RegTech Association of Hong Kong. RegTech Association of Hong Kong (RTAHK) today released the Hong Kong’s first Regulatory Technology (Regtech) landscape study, titled “2020 Hong Kong RegTech Map”. The study is based on industry-wide research and survey carried out by the RTAHK and co-supported by Cyberport, InvestHK and Moment Fintech, which aims to understand…

Cyberport’s annual flagship tech investment event, Cyberport Venture Capital Forum (CVCF), is slated to take place on 3-4 November. During a media briefing, Peter Yan, CEO of Cyberport; Eric Chan, Chief Public Mission Officer of Cyberport and Cindy Chow, Chairlady of the Cyberport Investment Network (CIN) shared their views on the latest trends in global venture capital investing and provided a preview of the upcoming event. Meanwhile, representatives of three startups incubated by Cyberport – Redsip, Snapask and MediConCen – shared on their latest developments and the fundraising efforts for the blockchain, insurtech, smart living and edtech industries under the…

Statrys, a Hong Kong-based digital payment services platform, has raised US$5 million in a closed-door funding round with an angel investor in the region. Statrys is a payments solution alternative geared towards SMEs, startups, and entrepreneurs who require flexible banking and advanced Forex solutions. The new funding round is a part of Statrys’ global growth strategy, starting with a big push into Asia to help support SMEs and entrepreneurs. The company intends to expand to other ASEAN countries like Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. The global digital payment and remittance market was valued at USD $2.99 billion in 2019 and is…

Ethereum development firm ConsenSys will be developing a proof-of-concept prototype for Bank of Thailand’s (BOT) retail Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) project. ConsenSys will be collaborating with Siam Cement Group (SCG) and Digital Ventures (DV), a subsidiary of The Siam Commercial Bank. ConsenSys joined the project as a technology partner to develop and test a prototype for CBDC. The private-permissioned network on Hyperledger Besu will be designed to meet both the functional and non-functional requirements of a retail CBDC. Previously HKMA and the BOT had initiated Project Inthanon-LionRock to study the application of CBDC to cross-border payments for which ConsenSys…

Galileo Platforms, a Hong Kong-based blockchain technology platform for the insurance industry, collaborated with Singlife Philippines, a mobile-first life insurer from Singapore, and GCash, an e-wallet in the Philippines, to launch a platform for life insurance products. By using Galileo’s scalable cloud-based blockchain technology, the new Singlife Philippines service can potentially reach a large and mostly untapped insurance market. The new blockchain-driven service aims to make affordable insurance available in one of the region’s most under-insured countries. It does so at a time of growing concern in the Philippines about COVID-19 and rising demand for health insurance. “We are very…

Next week, Hong Kong’s annual flagship fintech event, Hong Kong Fintech Week, will take place virtually, featuring 350 global speakers, including fintech entrepreneurs, investors, regulators, and academics, as well as 500 fintech exhibitors and 30 delegations. Themed “Humanising Fintech,” this year’s Hong Kong Fintech Week will run from November 2 to 6, and will explore how fintech can unlock the power of financial services to drive positive impacts for society and business in the post-COVID-19 era. Hong Kong Fintech Week 2020 will take place on a virtual platform, which will comprise channels focusing on the resilience and development of Hong…

Rapyd, a Fintech-as-a-Service company, has expanded its all-in-one payment capabilities in South Korea, its sixth global market. The expansion of the Rapyd Global Payments Network first took place in Singapore in November 2019, followed by Brazil in March 2020, the United Kingdom in June 2020 and Mexico and India in July 2020. By partnering with Korean payment service providers, KCP, PayLetter and others, Rapyd is now said to provide access to a comprehensive suite of South Korean payment options across international and local cards (Hyundai Card, Shinhan Card, Samsung Card), mobile wallets (Kakao Pay, Samsung Pay, Toss, and PAYCO), bank…

Working over the last eight months with FinTech leaders and experts, together with global software engineers, computer graphic designers, digital artists, event and media professionals, Hong Kong FinTech Week (HKFW) will attract over 25,000 attendees from over 70 economies and present you the most awaited industry event with exceptional virtual content and business networking experience. What to expect from this year’s most awaited industry event 1.Hear from some of the greatest minds on the planet Probably there was never such a strong lineup of any FinTech event with over 350 Global CEOs, founders, investors and regulators joining from over…

Cyberport has launched a blockchain accelerator programme called Block AdVenture in partnership with R3 and fintech incubator FORMS HK. Blockchain is one of the key technology clusters promoted by Cyberport. Through Block AdVenture, local startups will be equipped with a deeper knowledge of blockchain and assistance in making better use of blockchain platforms. The programme has been designed to help startups validate their business ideas and accelerate their product-market fit through community events, workshops, mentorship from industry leaders and access to prospects and investors. Over the three months of the programme, representatives from R3 and FORMS HK will pass on…

Robo-advisor AQUMON, developed by Magnum Research, announced that it has closed its Series Pre-B round of funding with a total investment of US$ 30 million (HKD 233 million). AQUMON will use the funding to strengthen its brand awareness in the Greater Bay area and increase its R&D spending, especially on software engineering and AI investment research. In addition to that, the company also plans to expand its product offerings to thematic stock portfolios and alpha seeking investment strategies. Fintech News had recently named AQUMON as one of the top 15 fintech startups from Hong Kong to watch out for in…

Temenos, the banking software company, announced that WeLab Bank, Hong Kong-based virtual bank, has publicly launched using cloud-native Temenos Transact to provide a range of next generation digital services for their customers. Designed, built and launched in less than 10 months, the fully digital bank reported 10,000 account openings within the first 10 days of launch. WeLab Bank is powered by cloud agnostic Temenos Transact for core banking along with Temenos Analytics and Financial Crime Mitigation. Implemented on Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud, WeLab is purportedly the first multi-cloud digital bank in Hong Kong. Operating on multiple clouds at…

Tencent’s WeBank, a digital-only bank in China, announced that has enabled accessibility features on its app to ensure visually impaired Chinese citizens can easily access its banking services in conjunction with the White Cane Safety Day on 15 October. According to data from the Second National Sample Survey of Disabled Persons, there are more than 17 million people with visual impairments in mainland China, accounting for around 21% of the total disabled population. However, less than 10% of apps and websites in the market are accessible for the visually impaired. Ting Hua, the developer of accessibility features of WeBank App,…

Cyberport Venture Capital Forum (CVCF), Cyberport’s annual tech investment event, will return on 3-4 November and will be held in a virtual and interactive format for the first time. This year’s event will cover how the tech venture ecosystem has been reshaped under the new normal for investors, enterprises and technopreneurs. The two-day virtual forum will gather more than 50 global venture capital (VC) experts to examine key silver linings through a plethora of illuminating keynotes and panel discussions. Furthermore, over 80 virtual booths will be set up for startups to showcase innovative tech solutions. It is part of a…

More than two years after the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) issued the Open API Framework for the Hong Kong Banking Sector, development of open banking is stalling as the industry “is clouded by uncertainty on data and privacy governance,” according to S&P Global Ratings. In a report titled The Future of Banking: One Year On, Hong Kong’s Open Banking Initiative Hits A Roadblock, the financial research and analysis firm cited data security as one of the major roadblocks to Hong Kong’s open banking initiatives, stating that regulators are still deliberating the security features of the Open API Framework. The…

Hong Kong investors show a growing preference for trusted and personalised wealth management solutions amid the pandemic, according to a new report released by Quantifeed, a provider of digital wealth management solutions. The report, “State of Wealthcare – Disconnects Between Hong Kongers’ Desire and Action”, revealed that wealthcare – the financial wellness of an individual – has become an essential part of Hong Kongers’ lives. Alex Ypsilanti, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Quantifeed said, “Hong Kongers clearly indicated their demand for wealth management services. It is time for financial institutions to meet this need by digitising their wealth offering…

Around the world, the COVID-19 crisis has forced banks and their customers to turn to digital tools and processes to compensate for branch and office closures. Many industry participants believe that the digital acceleration taking place today will have a permanent effect on the sector. In partnership with Finastra, Fintech News is running a series of interviews with the industry’s top banking voices to understand how their organizations have responded to these changes. As part of the “Redefining Finance for Good” series, we spoke to Arthur Wong, CIO of Chong Hing Bank, a Hong Kong bank founded in 1948, which…

Airstar Bank, one of Hong Kong’s new virtual banks, announced the appointment of Ronald Iu as the new Chief Executive, succeeding Dr. Frederic Lau. Airstar Bank has also appointed Dr. Frederic Lau as an advisor of the bank and he will remain as a member of the Board of Directors, as well as Vice Chairman of AMTD Group, with both appointments taking effect from October 10, 2020. They added that Dr. Lau played a huge role in building Airstar Bank from its inception to become one of the virtual banks to launch its services to the public in June this…