Hong Kong has commenced trial operations for a new central clearing and settlement system to support local gold trading. Operating under the government-owned Hong Kong Precious Metals Central Clearing Company (HKPMCC), this infrastructure provides services for bilateral and over-the-counter (OTC) gold transactions. Bank of China (Hong Kong) serves as the designated vault and settlement institution. To facilitate physical gold deposits and withdrawals, a central ledger records settlement activities and gold transfers. Balances are held on an unallocated basis for commingled holdings of 400-ounce bars meeting international standards. According to the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB), initial gold batches…

Alipay has launched an AI Open Platform to help enterprise developers integrate AI into merchant services. The Ant Group company is testing the system by invitation, according to Tech in Asia and Yicai, aiming to connect partner services directly to its built-in AI assistant, Abao. The platform operates on a dual-track system. Developers can convert existing services into interfaces that AI systems can call directly. For unmodified mini-programs, the platform uses AI screen-reading technology to execute tasks with user authorisation. Partners using the platform can distribute their services across multiple devices through a single connection. Alipay stated that the system…

Eddid Financial, Ant Digital Technologies, and SageRock Capital have signed a MoU to explore the development of green energy tokenisation products in Hong Kong. Using blockchain technology, the companies aim to enhance the transparency and credibility of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and green projects in the region. Bringing together complementary expertise, SageRock Capital will contribute asset integration capabilities, Eddid Financial will provide wealth management and capital markets experience, and Ant Digital Technologies will supply blockchain infrastructure. The companies said they will explore blockchain-enabled pathways for green energy development while complying with requirements set by the Hong Kong Securities and…

Hong Kong’s Social Welfare Department (SWD) has launched a free cross-border remittance service for elderly recipients of portable cash assistance. Proposed in the 2025 Policy Address, this initiative allows seniors in Guangdong and Fujian provinces to receive payments directly into Hong Kong dollar accounts at designated Mainland banks. Eligible welfare programmes include the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) under the Portable CSSA Scheme. Coverage also extends to the Old Age Living Allowance and the Old Age Allowance under the Guangdong and Fujian Schemes, both of which fall under the wider Social Security Allowance Scheme. Applicants must hold a Type I…

JCB and MUFG Bank have signed a MoU to form a strategic alliance across the ASEAN region. Both financial institutions aim to capture the growing affluent market and accelerate the adoption of digital payments in Southeast Asia. Integrating MUFG Bank’s partner network and digital investments with JCB’s global payment infrastructure serves as the primary focus. This collaboration will connect card products with existing financial services like deposits and investments. Under the new agreement, cardholders will receive exclusive benefits in Japan designed specifically for affluent consumers across ASEAN. Launching during the 2026 fiscal year, an upcoming Indonesian premium credit card marks…

Alibaba has banned its employees from using Anthropic’s AI coding tool, Claude Code, following the discovery of hidden tracking software used to identify users in China. The internal restriction, reported by The Next Web, takes effect on 10 July. The decision follows growing tensions between the two technology companies over intellectual property. Alibaba added Claude Code to its list of high-risk software due to security vulnerabilities, recommending that employees switch to Qoder, its proprietary coding platform. A developer discovered the tracking mechanism in late June after analyzing the software. The hidden markers had been active since April, checking system timezones…

Fraud and AML in Asia have shifted over the past year. Alongside the system-level attacks that continue, panellists point to a growing move towards human compromise, scams that target the customer’s judgement rather than the bank’s defences. This LexisNexis Risk Ready 2026 panel, hosted by Vincent Fong of Fintech News Network, works through that shift from four angles, security, compliance, customer experience and payments, and asks what financial institutions should actually do about it. The conversation moves from how scams have become more personalised and harder to detect, to the awkward questions underneath them: who should be liable when a…

According to the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), Hong Kong’s total assets under management (AUM) reached a record HK$42.2 trillion (US$5.4 trillion) in 2025. Surging net fund inflows of 193% year-on-year pushed total AUM above the previous 2021 peak, as detailed in the regulator’s Asset and Wealth Management Activities Survey 2025. Asset management and fund advisory businesses grew 19% to HK$31 trillion. Private banking and wealth management operations expanded 24% to HK$12.9 trillion over the same period. Investors from outside mainland China and Hong Kong accounted for more than 54% of total AUM. The sector also remained predominantly institution-oriented. Asset…

Hyundai Card launched six new debit and hybrid cards tailored to Apple Pay users in April. The South Korean issuer is targeting teens and consumers in their twenties to capture their everyday spending habits before they transition to credit card usage. Consumers in this younger demographic accounted for 61% of new sign-ups within the first 50 days of the launch. This represents a 13% increase compared to Hyundai Card’s existing debit and hybrid portfolio. The adoption rate was higher for the specific Apple Pay rewards variants, with 69% of total issuance coming from younger users. Spending data reflects this targeted…

DBS has signed a MoU with South Korea’s Samsung Securities to establish a strategic partnership in wealth management. The collaboration pairs Samsung Securities’ presence in the Korean capital markets with the global wealth platform of DBS to broaden cross-border investment options for clients. The two financial institutions will focus on four key areas of collaboration. DBS clients will gain access to the South Korean market through investment solutions provided by Samsung Securities. In return, Samsung Securities clients will be able to tap into the multi-asset global wealth solutions offered by DBS. The firms will also explore providing joint advisory services…

RedotPay has selected OpenPayd to enhance its treasury operations and cross-border remittance services. The company will integrate OpenPayd’s financial infrastructure to streamline how users move funds between local and digital currencies. This collaboration aims to strengthen RedotPay’s backend payment infrastructure by optimising liquidity management. Through this integration, the platform expects to process transactions securely and without delays, enabling faster multi-currency payment options for its users. By drawing on OpenPayd’s capabilities, RedotPay intends to offer a single platform that connects traditional banking with digital finance. The company noted that this infrastructure will support its ongoing global expansion while maintaining a flexible…

JCB has rolled out contactless payment acceptance on the Taipei Metro. The integration allows cardholders to tap physical cards or mobile devices directly at equipped fare gates to enter the transit network. While local stored-value cards like EasyCard and iPASS remain the default for most daily commuters, the JCB integration offers an alternative for tourists or riders who prefer to bypass ticket purchases and top-ups. The Taipei Metro, which commenced operations in 1996, covers over 100 kilometres and connects Taipei City with New Taipei City. It serves as a primary transport route for both residents and visitors travelling to major…

Ping An Bank has partnered with China UnionPay and Tencent Cloud to launch a debit card that rewards users with AI computing power. The product experiments with adding token packages and compute credits alongside traditional retail banking incentives to attract younger digital users, according to Wallstreetcn. The AI Compute Card will become available through the Pocket Bank app of Ping An Bank and its physical branches starting in July. Within the partnership, UnionPay provides the payment network and ecosystem aggregation layer for the AI tools. Tencent Cloud and other model providers supply AI applications such as WorkBuddy. The bank manages…

Hong Kong and Türkiye have established a formal framework to collaborate on financial innovation. Signing a MoU, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) aim to share information and explore joint fintech projects. Both regulators plan to work together on emerging technologies and broader issues affecting financial services. This partnership aims to strengthen bilateral ties within the technology sector. “The HKMA has been expanding its international fintech partnerships, and we are pleased to strengthen our collaboration with the CBRT,” said Eddie Yue, Chief Executive, HKMA. He noted that this agreement provides…

LexisNexis Risk Solutions and Promon announced a strategic alliance to strengthen fraud prevention in mobile apps globally. The LexisNexis and Promon partnership will combine access to LexisNexis ThreatMetric digital identity, device and behavioural intelligence with Promon Shield and Promon Insight in-app protection and telemetry. The collaboration aims to help organisations protect mobile applications from tampering and manipulation, while also enhancing risk intelligence that clients use to detect and prevent fraud. Promon Shield provides in-app protection, telemetry collection and deployment capabilities to help secure mobile applications. Meanwhile, ThreatMetrix delivers digital identity intelligence and risk decisioning to identify suspicious activity and is…

87% of GXBank’s small-business borrowers had never held a loan before. Deputy CEO Hildah Hamzah explains how the bank reaches them and still makes money. Hildah Hamzah is Deputy CEO and COO of GXBank, Malaysia’s first digital bank. She joined as employee number three and helped grow the team to around 400 people, with the bank focused on serving the B40 and M40 segments. She sat down with Fintech News Network to talk through whether digital banks have delivered on the financial inclusion they promised. In this episode: How 87% of its MSME borrowers were new to credit, and the…

Visa has launched a contactless transit payment pilot programme across the Shenzhen Metro network. The initiative allows international visitors to use their foreign cards for transit, supporting broader efforts to integrate payment systems within the Greater Bay Area. The pilot covers all 17 lines and 432 stations within the Shenzhen network. Passengers with eligible chip cards or enabled mobile devices can bypass ticket machines and pay directly at designated gates. The service also supports ticket validation for Business Class carriages on Line 11. Shenzhen is the third city in the Greater Bay Area to support the payment company’s transit service.…

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) have completed the first phase of a review on adopting distributed ledger technology (DLT) in the local fixed income market. According to a joint announcement, findings confirm the city’s legal framework is flexible enough to handle tokenised bond issuances (representing traditional bonds as digital tokens on a blockchain). To provide clarity on DLT-based record keeping, the Companies Registry issued FAQs. The FAQs affirm that maintaining a register of debenture holders via DLT fulfils existing record-keeping requirements under the Companies Ordinance. The next phase of the…

Tencent is testing a mobile application called TenPayGo to help overseas visitors make digital payments in China. The platform aims to bridge the gap for international travellers navigating the country’s predominantly cashless payment ecosystem, as reported by Bloomberg citing Jiemian News. The app is being developed as a consolidated digital services platform. It supports electronic payments for travel, dining and shopping across the tens of millions of Chinese merchants that already accept Weixin Pay. TenPayGo is currently undergoing limited internal testing and has not yet been released to the public. The trial coincides with a broader recovery in inbound travel…

SBI Holdings has agreed to acquire Japanese crypto exchange Bitbank in a deal valued at approximately US$289 million, with completion expected in October pending approval from Japan’s Fair Trade Commission. The acquisition, first reported in May, will see Bitbank become a wholly owned subsidiary, accorting to Finextra. This comes as SBI accelerates its expansion in digital assets ahead of anticipated regulatory changes that will bring crypto under Japan’s Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, offering clearer oversight for the sector. SBI has been steadily building its crypto footprint, including the integration of Bitpoint and a partnership with Visa to enable credit…