Lessons from Hong Kong through the lens of the HKMA

Arthur Yuen

The term “fintech” (financial technology) may have existed for more than a decade, but in Hong Kong its application has only began to gather genuine momentum over the last few years. However, it has already brought significant benefits to the general public in terms of ease of banking and financial management. As recently as 2015, opening a bank account in Hong Kong could be a time-consuming experience. Taking time off work to visit a bank branch and physically verifying one’s identity were standard procedures. Now, with the help of technology, a bank account can be opened in Hong Kong in the comfort of one’s home or office in a matter of just minutes.

At the same time, as financial institutions and regulators are increasingly adopting technology, they are also experiencing profound changes in their daily operations – changes that in turn raise important questions about risk management. Indeed, one of the key lessons from Hong Kong’s fintech transformation is that regulatory technology (regtech) and supervisory technology (suptech) are best seen not as standalone concepts, but need to be weaved into the digital journey that financial institutions and regulators are going