The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has announced plans to launch a FinTech innovation hub and regulatory sandbox.
HKMA’s chief executive Norman Chan, discussed the initiatives at the Treasury Markets Summit earlier this week.
The ‘FinTech Supervisory Sandbox’, will allow banks to conduct testing and trial of newly developed technology on a pilot basis.
Products can be tested “without the need to achieve full compliance with the HKMA’s usual supervisory requirements,” Chan said.
An innovation hub will also be established to give FinTech firms further support with testing, regulatory guidance and system resources.
Hong Kong is the latest to launch a regulatory sandbox, following in the footsteps of the UK, Singapore and Australia.
HKMA’s Chan recognised a “quite commonly-held perception that the development of FinTech in the financial services sector in Hong Kong has been slow.”