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“The diversity of perspectives from various sectors can lead to more creative and effective solutions, particularly in the rapidly evolving field of AI. Different sectors also have access to different types of data, which can be valuable for training and improving AI models.”
Fintech 2030 marked the third stage of the city’s fintech strategy for the financial sector, following earlier initiatives in 2021 and 2017.
Citing an example of potential collaborations, Yue said a bank had partnered with a telecommunications service provider to explore cross-sectoral anti-fraud measures. He did not identify the two firms.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority office at Two International Finance Centre in Central. Photo: Jelly Tse
“Project Noor aims to establish an AI model assessment framework tailored for the banking sector, enabling banks and regulators to better manage AI-related risks,” Yue said.
While those two stages focused on payment infrastructure and online banking, Fintech 2030 is expected to drive more collaboration between banks and other sectors.
“As part of the ecosystem, banks, technology firms, academia and other industry participants should work together to innovate responsibly,” Yue said.
The HKMA unveiled Fintech 2030 in November with a focus on DART – an acronym for data, AI, resilience and tokenisation. There are more than 40 initiatives under its five-year road map.
“As the saying goes, ‘data is the new oil’,” Yue said. “Good data quality will foster the application of AI, creating an ecosystem that empowers banks to provide more tailored and inclusive services to the general public.”
“We need to strengthen our economy’s ability to share, verify and use data securely and efficiently.”
Banks and fund houses are being encouraged to use tokenised deposits in tokenised money market fund transactions, according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Photo: Shutterstock
To ensure better use of data and AI, Yue said Hong Kong would continue to build its next-generation data infrastructure, while further promoting the use of data to help small and medium-sized enterprises turn their transaction records into bank loans via the Commercial Data Interchange (CDI).
“In the next few years, we will further expand the data sets available on CDI, including golden source data from the government, and work with the industry to create more data analytics capability and practical use cases,” he said.
Tokenisation was expected to be another key development, according to Yue. Banks and fund houses would be encouraged to use tokenised deposits in tokenised money market fund transactions, while managing liquidity and treasury requirements in real time.
“HKMA and the industry will explore the transformative potential of tokenisation within a wide range of applications, from supporting instantaneous bond settlement to enabling the simultaneous movement of trade finance with real-time data and seamless cross-border investments,” Yue said.
On emerging technology such as quantum computing, which remains in the early stages of development, Yue said its “potential to impact current encryption methods for data protection and online authentication has been widely acknowledged”.
“In collaboration with industry stakeholders and research institutions, the HKMA will provide guidance and support in addressing challenges related to technology, governance and planning during the transition, driving post-quantum cryptography readiness of banks,” he said.
“With competitive pressure from Singapore and other regional centres intensifying, Hong Kong must ensure its policy frameworks remain both robust and innovation-friendly,” Quinlan said.
“However, achieving this ambition will require continued investment in specialised talent, stronger commercialisation pathways beyond sandbox environments and sustained regulatory coordination both within Hong Kong and across international jurisdictions.”
Still, Yue expressed confidence about Hong Kong’s competitiveness.
Hong Kong secured the world’s top fintech ranking for the first time in the Global Financial Centres Index in September, while Singapore ranked fourth, according to the report by Z/Yen and the City of London, which tracked 116 centres based on criteria like regulations, access to finance and talent.
“Looking ahead, we will continue to build on this momentum,” Yue said. “Our aspiration is for these fintech advancements to empower the financial sector and the real economy, delivering tangible benefits to individuals and communities across Hong Kong and beyond.”
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2026 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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