ZA Bank has partnered with Industrial Bank to launch its Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect Southbound Scheme service. The company said it is the first digital bank in Hong Kong to provide this cross-border investment option. Under the Southbound Scheme, eligible investors in the nine mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area (GBA) can complete their initial account setup through Industrial Bank. This process includes opening a mainland remittance account, completing qualification verification, and finishing the required risk assessment. Once these steps are completed, users can operate a dedicated investment account directly through the ZA Bank mobile application. This allows them…

Tencent’s cross-border payment platform, TenPay Global, has launched a remittance service tailored for non-Chinese citizens. The feature allows international users holding foreign passports to send funds directly to China from their home countries. The platform connects the Weixin ecosystem with more than 60 international banks and remittance institutions, including DBS, Panda Remit, LemFi, Remitly, and Wise. The service supports cross-border transfers from over 100 countries and regions globally. Foreign residents living in China can receive these transactions using mobile numbers linked to their WeChat accounts. Once credited, users can use the funds across the Weixin ecosystem for daily expenses, mobile…

XTransfer has partnered with European bank Societe Generale to develop cross-border payment and currency settlement solutions for businesses moving money between China and global markets. The two firms signed a memorandum of understanding at the Money20/20 Europe 2026 conference in Amsterdam. The agreement outlines plans for local collection and outbound payment services to speed up international trade settlements. A key focus of the partnership is a “Pay to China” service. This will offer US dollar and Chinese yuan settlement options in Hong Kong and mainland China. The companies will also work on foreign exchange products to convert local currencies into…

XTransfer has signed a MoU with global financial group BBVA to deepen cross-border payment infrastructure across Latin America and Europe. The agreement, announced during the Money20/20 Europe 2026 event in Amsterdam, focuses on delivering integrated business-to-business financial solutions. These services will span foreign exchange conversion, local payments, and cross-border payments across Latin America, Europe, and Hong Kong. The companies will explore the use of application programming interfaces, digital platforms, and virtual accounts to support automated, real-time transaction processing. The collaboration targets small and medium-sized enterprises engaged in international trade, aiming to streamline payment flows and improve operational connectivity. Trade between…

Consumer fraud is no longer a peripheral risk across APAC. It is becoming a defining factor in how people engage with digital services, payments and financial institutions, and in how much they trust them. New report from LSEG Risk Intelligence, based on responses from 7,000 consumers across APAC, shows the scale of the challenge and why organisations across banking, fintech and payments need to rethink how fraud risk is managed. Fraud exposure is now the norm, not the exception Almost six in ten adults across APAC have been exposed to scams directly or indirectly in the past two years. Around one…

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has reminded authorised institutions to review their cyber defenses against frontier AI models. The regulator warned that advanced AI could commoditise the attack process and exploit zero-day vulnerabilities in critical software. The HKMA noted that while AI-assisted attacks like phishing and deepfakes are not new, frontier AI models represent a step change. According to AI firms and research institutes, these systems show the capacity to independently identify software flaws, which could reduce the need for human expertise and lead to faster, more frequent breaches. The HKMA expects financial institutions to assess whether their current…

Manulife has partnered with Alibaba Cloud to establish a joint AI hub in Hong Kong. The collaboration will focus on developing new applications for the insurance sector and embedding AI across the company’s digital customer journeys. The two firms plan to incubate solutions designed to strengthen fraud detection capabilities and advance service personalisation for policyholders. This initiative aligns with Manulife’s broader strategy to scale its technical capabilities globally. The company projects its AI initiatives will generate over CAD$1 billion in enterprise value by 2027. The partnership provides a formal framework for the companies to identify co-development opportunities and evaluate emerging…

RedotPay has launched its first B2B product, RedotPay Connect, allowing enterprise merchants to accept stablecoin payments and settle instantly in local currencies. The company announced the new payment gateway at Money20/20 Europe, marking a shift from its core consumer card offerings into enterprise payments. RedotPay Connect operates as a single-integration gateway that accepts stablecoins from major digital wallets, including MetaMask and Coinbase Wallet. The platform settles transactions instantly in fiat currencies such as the US dollar, euro, and British pound, removing the price volatility typically associated with cryptocurrency acceptance. According to the company, the gateway can reduce merchant discount rates…

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has released its annual report, reviewing trends and key events in monetary and banking affairs in 2025, and outlining strategic priorities for 2026. These priorities include fintech initiatives, and infrastructure modernization efforts. Key initiatives this year will drive fintech innovation and digital transformation across the financial sector, with a specific focus on adopting artificial intelligence (AI) and distributed ledger technology (DLT). Concurrently, infrastructure modernization efforts will seek to bolster Hong Kong’s competitiveness as a global financial hub, facilitate cross-border trade, and expand financial access for both businesses and individuals. The HKMA has also committed…

Despite recording low and decreasing fraud rates, Hong Kong is experiencing disproportionately high digital fraud losses. According to a TransUnion survey conducted between November and December 2025, the median fraud loss in Hong Kong stood at US$6,155 (HKD 48,000) last year, the highest in Asia and nearly four times the global median of US$1,671 (HKD 13,000). These higher-value incidents were driven primarily by identity theft, voice phishing (vishing), and money mule activity. Identity theft emerged as the leading cause, accounting for 34% of losses among consumers who reported digital fraud last year. Identity theft involves someone stealing another person’s personal…

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) have shown how Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) and verified organisational data can improve cross-border open finance networks. Linking open finance systems Run by the BIS Innovation Hub Hong Kong Centre, Project Aperta has developed and tested a prototype for cross-border open finance interconnectivity. The project creates a “network of networks” that links existing domestic systems in the UK, UAE, Brazil, Hong Kong, and India. It does so through a neutral interoperability layer. When an organisation identifies itself using an LEI, the prototype helps streamline Know Your…

OCBC Hong Kong has appointed Angus Tsang as its new Head of Wholesale Banking and Stanley Sze-To as Chief Risk Officer, ahead of the retirement of long-serving executive Johnny Wei. Wei will officially retire on 1 December 2026 after leading the wholesale banking division since 2016. During his tenure, he oversaw the integration of the OCBC Hong Kong branch, with the business achieving record performance in Hong Kong’s syndicated loan market in 2025. Wholesale banking transition Tsang, currently the Chief Risk Officer, will take over as Head of Wholesale Banking on 16 November 2026. He will first step into the…

Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) announced that applications are now open for the ninth edition of the Global Fast Track (GFT) 2026 until September 25. For the first time, the flagship initiative will cover eight major verticals and introduce a new Online Market Readiness Programme, alongside an upgraded pitching competition. These enhancements provide a platform for innovative technology companies to showcase their solutions, while offering more diverse and flexible pathways to leverage Hong Kong as a launchpad for expansion into Asian and international markets. Anchored around Hong Kong Fintech Week x StartmeupHK 2026, the programme offers participating companies tailored business matching,…

Futu has reported a 25% year-on-year increase in total revenues to HK$5.90 billion for the first quarter of 2026, alongside the full-scale licensed launch of its virtual asset trading platform in Hong Kong. The company’s non-GAAP net income stood at HK$919.5 million. This figure factors in an adjusted subsequent event involving the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). According to Futu, the CSRC proposed a confiscation of approximately RMB470 million in alleged illegal gains and imposed fines of approximately RMB1.38 billion linked to a broader regulatory probe into unlicensed cross-border trading in mainland China. Excluding the regulatory penalties, the company noted…

TransUnion has appointed Avishek Ghosh as its Chief Data and Analytics Officer for APAC. Based in Hong Kong, Ghosh will direct the credit reference agency’s regional data strategy, managing the entire data process from acquisition and modelling to insight generation. Ghosh brings more than 17 years of global banking experience to TransUnion. He previously served as a senior vice president at HSBC, where he managed the unsecured lending business across nine Asian markets. He holds a Master’s Degree in Statistics from the Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata. The appointment consolidates TransUnion’s regional analytics operations. The move brings its data science,…

Standard Chartered has entered into an institutional custody arrangement with fintech firm SOLOWIN HOLDINGS (AXG), marking an initial instance of a globally systemically important bank providing regulated digital asset safekeeping in Hong Kong. The service establishes an institutional-grade custody framework for regulated financial institutions and professional investors. Standard Chartered is using its existing infrastructure to maintain high governance standards, ensuring the strict segregation and protection of digital assets. The rollout follows engagement with Hong Kong regulators to align the operational framework with local compliance requirements. “This milestone reflects the progress Hong Kong is making in building a robust and well-regulated…

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has issued new guidelines urging authorised institutions to offer basic banking services to residents assessed as presenting higher compliance risks. According to the regulator’s circular, the move aims to address financial inclusion by ensuring individuals who might otherwise be entirely shut out of the financial system maintain access to essential services. This includes individuals residing in Hong Kong who are under investigation but have not yet been convicted of any offence. The HKMA reminded banks to avoid a rigid, “one-size-fits-all” approach of denying accounts entirely. Instead, the regulator advocates providing basic services, such as…

Tencent is allowing US-based PayPal users to complete transactions in China by scanning Weixin Pay QR codes, part of a broader upgrade to its payment infrastructure ahead of the APEC 2026 summit. The company announced the 2026 Inbound Payment Service Upgrade Initiative alongside the People’s Bank of China Shenzhen Branch and PayPal World. The measures aim to simplify digital payment access for international visitors. Expanding PayPal integration Under a partnership between Tencent’s cross-border platform TenPay Global and PayPal World, PayPal users travelling in China can use their existing wallets. They can scan or be scanned at tens of millions of…

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) have issued comprehensive updates covering virtual asset financing, custody, and stablecoin dealing. According to joint circulars from the regulators, licensed institutions can provide virtual asset financing to securities margin clients based on their financial capability. Eligible collateral is strictly limited to bitcoin, ether, and HKMA-licensed stablecoins. These assets are subject to prudent haircuts, set at a minimum of 60% for both bitcoin and ether. Brokers may also provide retail clients with access to global shared order books for agency trading, provided they explicitly explain the associated risks.…

Aayush Singhania is Chief Product Officer at Tazapay, a Singapore-based cross-border payments platform that onboards customers across 70-plus countries and recently raised $36M to expand its stablecoin and agentic payments infrastructure. He joins Vincent Fong to explain why the SaaS subscription model breaks the moment AI agents become the customers, what replaces it, and how stablecoins connect two of fintech’s biggest open questions: how money moves across borders, and how software gets paid for in a world where AI agents are the buyers. In this episode: Why $30 trillion sits frozen in correspondent banking accounts How stablecoins disappear into the…